Basketball team holding ‘Pink Night’ to honor Thunder Ridge student with rare, aggressive bone cancer

AMMON — The Thunder Ridge boys basketball team is hosting its eighth annual “Pink Night” tonight.

The community cancer awareness and fundraiser event will take place during the Titan and Highland Rams game. The freshman and junior varsity games will begin at 6 p.m., with the varsity game starting at 7:30 p.m.

Funds are being raised for Kindi Barrie, a student at Thunder Ridge. On Aug. 10, 2023, at the age of 14, Kindi was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer.

“That summer, a bump on her foot began growing alarmingly fast. After an MRI, we were sent to Primary Children’s Hospital,” Maria Barrie, Kindi’s mom, said in a statement to EastIdahoNews.com. “It was absolutely heartbreaking.”

Kindi did 11 cycles of chemotherapy and countless blood and platelet transfusions before she reached remission in May 2024. But Maria said in April 2025, they discovered a “cyst” on the same foot, in the area where Kindi’s original tumor had been.

“Kindi made the brave decision to have it removed with what was expected to be a routine surgery,” Maria explained. “Then, just two days before she would have celebrated one full year in remission, we got the call that shattered us — the cyst was another tumor. The cancer wasn’t gone. The radiation hadn’t killed it.”

She added, “We were left with no choice but to amputate Kindi’s foot and begin a new round of chemotherapy. It was the only way to save her life.”

Maria said her daughter had her foot removed in June and has since undergone two more surgeries.

“Her body has struggled to heal, delaying both her prosthetic fitting and the start of her chemo,” she mentioned.

In October, they were told the cancer had spread to Kindi’s lungs. She started chemo that month and has to do 12-14 cycles of chemo with a cycle every 21 days. Kindi will have to have radiation on her lungs as well.

“Through it all, Kindi has remained the bravest girl I know,” Maria said. “No matter what has come her way, she has faced it like the warrior she is.”

The “Pink Night” theme of the night is “Kindi’s Courage.”

“‘Kindi’s Courage’ is the courage it takes to fight cancer not once, but twice. The courage it takes to decide to amputate my foot to save my life,” Kindi said. “If my courage can help anyone, it’s worth it.”

A charity auction featuring services and items donated by local businesses and community members will take place during the game. There will also be “pink treats” for sale. Shadie Bigelow with Rockwell Homes, the event sponsor, said 100% of the proceeds will go to help Kindi fight cancer.

Rockwell Homes will provide free “Pink Night” t-shirts to the first 500 attendees. Student Council members will also be walking around collecting cash donations inside open basketballs.

“Some nights mean more than basketball. ‘Pink Night’ is one of them,” Bigelow stated. “This night means so much to our community as we come together to support Kindi and her incredible courage. We are thankful for the many local businesses and community members who have donated, served, and shown up with so much love.”

For those people who can’t make it to the game but want to donate to help Kindi and her family, donations can be made on Venmo @Maria-Barrie-1.