By ALLISON P. SMITH/Staff Reporter
Published:
Friday, July 17, 2009 11:19 AM CDT

Blue Bell Creameries had a new chief executive officer for the day as Paul Kruse, who normally holds that position, presented 5-year-old Delaney Starcher with a certificate and gave her and her siblings silver dollars commemorating Blue Bell's centennial anniversary.

Delaney is battling diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a cancer in the brain stem. She was diagnosed last October and was told that she would survive for only nine months.

Her visit here was organized by Adam's Angels Ministry, a locally based organization that helps families who have children diagnosed with cancer, children undergoing treatment and those who have lost a child because of childhood cancer.

Bill Weiss, Blue Bell's public relations manager, took Delaney on a private tour with the rest of her family Thursday morning. Delaney was able to see places that are not on the regular tour. She hung out with Kruse for a little while, she was able to walk the floor and see how the ice cream was made and she saw the advertising and marketing department.

"We saw over 125,000 visitors at Blue Bell ... but to see Delaney takes the tour to a whole different level," Weiss said. "Seeing the courage and spirit in Delaney has humbled us all. It makes us feel really good that we can do something small that puts a smile on this little girls face."

So far Delaney is doing better than average, her mom Shannon Hayes said, every day is a good day.

"Very few children who have this cancer live 24 months past their diagnosis date," Hayes said.

At Blue Bell, Delaney and her sister Bailey, 7, and her brother Tyler, 2, were able to make their own ice cream flavor. Bailey's Surprise had sour gummy bears, chocolate ice cream and strawberry syrup.

Delaney's Surprise had green gummy bears, chocolate syrup, a cup full of sprinkles and a cup of M&M's for the topper.

"Green is my favorite color," Delaney said as she took out only the green gummy bears.

After they finished putting the ice cream in a container, they made Popsicle sticks that were dipped in chocolate sauce and rolled into more sprinkles.

"Yummy," Delaney said.

Delaney and her family went to the floor to see how the ice cream was made and packaged for shipment.

"Watching Delaney look at the conveyor belt was my favorite part of the whole tour," Hayes said. "She was probably thinking about how to make one of those at home."

You never know what is going through her mind, Hayes said.

"It is awesome to see her doing normal stuff as a normal kid," Hayes said.

At the end of the tour, everybody had some ice cream fresh from the Blue Bell production line.

"My favorite part was telling my (step)dad that I was done with the vanilla and chocolate ice cream, and I love the apron," Delaney said. "The part I didn't like was that cold place (cold storage)."

The family also paid a visit to state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst at her local office. Kolkhorst presented Delaney with a gavel and a Texas flag that flew over the state capitol building.

"You are the first person I gave a gavel to," Kolkhorst said. "Do you know what to do with it?"

Delaney hit the desk as hard as she could with the gavel.

"That is what I do in Austin, I hit the gavel and say ‘come to order,'" Kolkhorst said.

Kolkhorst recently sponsored a bill that would add more research dollars to child cancers.

"Delaney, you are the best part of my summer; I am going to pray for you, and I am going to get funding to find a cure for you," Kolkhorst said.

Donna and Tim Culliver founded Adam's Angels Ministry after their 4-year old son Adam died from a rare form of cancer in January 2003.

This article was originally run in the Brenham Banner-Press.