Dear Friends...I want to carve out a special post in honor of a dear friend and former colleague of mine, Bonnie Wagstaff. She was/is a truly gifted reading intervention teacher in Eastern Wake County, here in Raleigh, NC. Last year, she retired from Wake County to spend more time with her husband, Rusty and two daughters, who at the time, were preparing for a wedding and a graduation from UNC's dental school. A truly kind person and amazing teacher with a heart of gold.
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And now comes the hard part, and I'm really not very good with words when it comes to stuff like this. But too make a very long and horrible story short, Bonnie's husband began to not feel well a week or so prior to Christmas...she thought he had the flu and he'd gotten a flu shot. After days of laying in bed, he told Bonnie that he thought she should take him to the doctor. She did. The doctor immediately checked him into the hospital. The flu went septic and his body was fighting to stay alive. The hospital put him into a medically induced coma to conserve energy on his organs. The next day, the doctors told Bonnie that they needed to remove his feet and lower limbs, and possibly hands so the gangrene would not spread to the rest of his body. Can you imagine waking up with no feet and hands??? I cannot, and this is exactly what happened. The family was and is surrounded by an incredible support network of family, friends and church members. They are very public about their story but as you can imagine, were never prepared for something like this...who is?
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So, another former colleague of Bonnie's, Summer Pittman, the media/technology specialist at Knightdale Elementary, where Bonnie worked for most her career before transferring to Lake Myra Elementary, has organized a "Rally for Rusty" Fundraiser...with over $500 worth of products for $20...all proceeds from this product will go to the Wagstaff family. So, I'm not going to beg, put ask you consider, if nothing else, making a $20 donation...and the products are a bonus. Due to Rusty's condition, medical bills, and therapy, their life is changing and they need your help.
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And now comes the hard part, and I'm really not very good with words when it comes to stuff like this. But too make a very long and horrible story short, Bonnie's husband began to not feel well a week or so prior to Christmas...she thought he had the flu and he'd gotten a flu shot. After days of laying in bed, he told Bonnie that he thought she should take him to the doctor. She did. The doctor immediately checked him into the hospital. The flu went septic and his body was fighting to stay alive. The hospital put him into a medically induced coma to conserve energy on his organs. The next day, the doctors told Bonnie that they needed to remove his feet and lower limbs, and possibly hands so the gangrene would not spread to the rest of his body. Can you imagine waking up with no feet and hands??? I cannot, and this is exactly what happened. The family was and is surrounded by an incredible support network of family, friends and church members. They are very public about their story but as you can imagine, were never prepared for something like this...who is?
You can read Rusty's Caring Bridge story HERE.
So, another former colleague of Bonnie's, Summer Pittman, the media/technology specialist at Knightdale Elementary, where Bonnie worked for most her career before transferring to Lake Myra Elementary, has organized a "Rally for Rusty" Fundraiser...with over $500 worth of products for $20...all proceeds from this product will go to the Wagstaff family. So, I'm not going to beg, put ask you consider, if nothing else, making a $20 donation...and the products are a bonus. Due to Rusty's condition, medical bills, and therapy, their life is changing and they need your help.
As of one hour ago, his daughter posted this on Facebook.
Here is the link to the Rally for Rusty Fundraiser.
36 Products
1000+ Pages of Resources
20 Dollars
THANK YOU!