COURTESY BRUHL FAMILY Amy Bruhl loves spending time with her dog, Chance. Bruhl is undergoing treatment for bone cancer. Her right leg was removed last month, and friends are organizing a benefit Saturday to raise money for a prosthetic leg.

Friends rally for
inspiring mom

Amy Bruhl is a second-grade teacher, a paddler and an enthusiastic soccer mom. Bone cancer that cost Bruhl her right leg has removed her from the classroom, the canoe and the field of play -- but that's temporary.

Family Fun Day A benefit for Amy Bruhl: When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday Place: BluWater Grill Suggested donation: $25; $10 children, includes brunch, entertainment, children's activities Also: Donations to "Friends of Amy Bruhl" may be made at any Bank of Hawaii location Call: 429-1699 for more information

Her friends want to do all they can to ensure her return -- that's the impetus behind a benefit event on Saturday that begins on the ocean and ends with brunch at her husband's restaurant.

Cyndi Sheehan, Bruhl's friend and the event's organizer, says money raised will go toward purchasing a prosthetic leg. "Amy's goal is to get back into paddling and she wants to play soccer again. That's why it's important to us to get her the kind of leg that will allow her to do all those things."

Bruhl teaches at Lanikai Elementary and is the mother of three.

Her husband is Bill Bruhl, chef at the BluWater Grill in the Hawaii Kai Shopping Center. The restaurant will be the site of Saturday's activities -- a brunch and silent auction, plus entertainment by jugglers, magicians and balloon artists. Makana and Moanalua will provide the music.

Along with his own staff, Bill Bruhl says many restaurant friends will help with the eggs, pancakes and sausage, including his old crew from Ryan's Grill -- where he worked before opening BluWater. "It makes me feel very humble."

He said his wife has already been fitted with a state-of-the-art new leg. "It's hydraulic, with a computer chip. It's like a bionic leg."

COURTESY BRUHL FAMILY Amy and Bill Bruhl have three children -- Zachary, left, Mollie and Malcolm. Bill Bruhl is the chef at BluWater Grill in Hawaii Kai.

Sheehan said Saturday's event began with their paddling club, Hui Pako Lea, planning a paddle in Bruhl's honor -- "but the more we talked about it, the bigger and bigger it got."

The paddle -- from Lanikai to Hawaii Kai -- remains part of the celebration, however. One-man canoes, outriggers and clubs are invited to gather at Lanikai Beach at 7 a.m. (any outrigger must provide an escort boat). It's not a race, Sheehan says, but an ocean-bound expression of support for a friend.

The paddle is expected to take three hours and will deliver the paddlers to the Hawaii Kai boat ramp just in time for brunch, Bloody Marys and mimosas.

Bruhl has been sidelined by cancer since November and must be hospitalized for days at a time for chemotherapy treatment, her husband says, but he hopes she will be able to attend on Saturday.

Sheehan has confidence in the recovery of her friend. The women have paddled together, their children have played soccer together, and Sheehan said she has always been impressed by Bruhl's ability to motivate both young soccer players and beginning paddlers. Now it's time for others to bolster her strength.

"She's a giver" Sheehan said. "She's got a huge heart."