The sweet smell of funnel cakes filled the lobby of the gymnasium at Seneca High School.

At a folding table near the concession stand, two women were selling the sugary, flour treats as part of a fund-raiser for a Seneca School District student.

Just a few feet away, sitting in his wheelchair, Jake King, 14, an eighth grade student at Seneca, was all smiles.

King suffers from Cerebral Palsy, and also from severe scoliosis. King is also hearing-impaired.

The funnel cake fund-raiser was being held to help raise funds for King’s family as he prepares to have surgery to correct his scoliosis at Children’s Mercy hospital in Kansas City this April.

King, according to his mother, Kim Marion, was diagnosed with scoliosis seven years ago.

Scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side-to-side or front-to-back, and may also be rotated.

King’s condition continues to deteriorate and he is now having trouble breathing because the disease is putting pressure on his lungs.

Marion said she couldn’t believe the support her family is receiving from the community.

“It’s so wonderful,” she said. “They didn’t have to do this, but everyone just wants to help everyone else. I am really speechless. It’s so nice.”

Beside his handicap, King is a normal teen-age boy. He attends classes at Seneca High School, even though he is an eighth grade student, because the high school is better suited for his needs physically. Chris Todd, his para-professional with the school district, said King does well in school.

“He is so much fun to be around,” Todd said. “The kids just love him. He blends in so well here.”

King loves to interact with the student body, and attend school functions, his mother said. He’s a big fan of NASCAR and likes SpongeBob Squarepants.

The money raised during the fund-raiser was going to help Marion, and Jake’s father, Greg King, with expenses during his two-week stay at Children’s Mercy. The family lives in Seneca.

“I just don’t want to leave him,” Marion said. “If I have to sleep in a chair at the hospital, I am going to stay with Jake. His father will have to work, so he will have to make several trips back and forth to Kansas City, and that can get expensive. He will probably make eight or 10 trips when it is all done.”

For more information on how to help or donate money, please call Chris Todd at the Longhouse in Seneca at 776-3690.