TEA – There’s never been a better reason to go on a date.

Area bachelors will step on the auction block Friday at the Sport’s Page in an attempt to raise funds for Addison Fowler, a 7-month old baby from Tea with septo-optic dysplasia (SOD).

The benefit includes the bachelor auction and a silent auction of items donated by about two dozen area businesses.

Addison’s is a special case. There are only about 170 diagnosed cases of SOD in the U.S., and there is no sure-fire cure.

The benefit auction will raise funds to send Addison and her mother Rachelle to China for experimental treatments that could make her life easier in the years to come.

The rare disorder, which causes partial to complete blindness in all patients, carries a host of unpredictable problems resulting from hormone deficiencies and brain abnormalities.

For example, doctors already know Addison has a dehydration-causing disorder called diabetes insipidus. But as she grows, Addison could experience complications ranging from stunted growth to cerebral palsy.

Pinpointing a problem can be as frustrating as informative. Addison is missing a part of the brain called the septum pellucidum, but a pamphlet from the Human Growth Foundation says the absence of the tissue doesn’t mean doctors can predict future neurologic problems.

“They watch her really closely,” Rachelle Fowler said.

Addison’s pituitary gland doesn’t look normal, she said, but it is functioning normally now.

“So far, knock on wood, we haven’t had problems there,” Fowler said.

She and husband Eric first thought that something could be wrong shortly after bringing her home to join her siblings Zach, 16, Zane, 11 and Lillie, 3.

“When she was about two months old, she had no eye contact with us,” Fowler said. “At that point, she should have at least made some eye contact.”

The Fowlers took Addison to Sioux Falls ophthalmologist Geoffrey Tufty, who noticed the infant and a particularly small optic nerve. Tufty ordered an MRI, and suddenly the Fowlers discovered they were dealing with a disorder most families – and many doctors – hadn’t even heard of.

Addison, who Rachelle describes as “happy, personable and spoiled rotten,” has shown improvement thanks to physical and occupational therapy, but there is a clinic in China doing stem cell research where two U.S. families are currently receiving promising treatments.

The treatments in China use umbilical stem cells, which does not involve the destruction of a fetus.

The Fowlers are monitoring the progress of the families getting the treatments, which cost $15,000 each. If the Fowlers opt for the treatments, Addison will need four of them, and Rachelle will need to stay with her in China for the months the treatments may take.

Fowler didn’t organize the benefit, however. The Friday auction was put in motion by Addison’s godmother, Angie Munce.

Munce is also godmother to Fowler’s oldest son Zach, and the two women have known each other for 20 years. The families are incredibly close.

“We have Christmas together,” Munce said. “Rachelle lost her mother a few years ago, and she actually calls my mom ‘Mom.’”

So when Munce learned of the promising treatments, she decided an auction was one way to make something happen.

“I wanted to start locally, so I just opened the phone book and got going,” she said.

Before long, Munce had a long list of items in a wide range of categories. Bidders can try for packages from area photographers, gift certificates from the YMCA or Curves, rounds of golf, take-and-bake pizzas and gourmet meats. There is even a lawn mowing package on the auction block.

Finding items for the silent auction was simple enough, but when Sport’s Page owner Melissa Naatjes suggested a bachelor auction, things got a little more challenging.

“It’s strange how people can be really funny and full of themselves when they go out, but when a bachelor auction comes along the true insecurities come out,” Munce joked.

Naatjes runs fundraisers throughout the year, but she hadn’t done a bachelor auction yet.

“I always get teased by single guys who say they can’t find any decent single girls, so I thought we could try to help them out,” Naatjes said.

The women bid on the bachelors; the bachelors will pay for the date, she said.

“That part is up to the guy – it could be a picnic in Falls Park and a movie,” she said.

The silent auction items will be on display early in the evening and the bidding will start at 9 p.m., but, “If you’re interested in picking a bachelor, you’ll probably want to be there at seven,” Munce said.

Munce has set up an account at First Premiere Bank for Addison. Donations can be made c/o Addison.