Doors of Hope - Stubblefield's
Donation protected
March 25, 2014... a day that would change Katie Stubblefield's life forever. A day of any parent's worst nightmare. A day when the precious daughter of Robb & Alesia Stubblefield would impulsively attempt to take her own life with her brother's shotgun while her mother & brother momentarily stepped outside - only to come back in to the terror of the reality of what just happened. A day when the doctors told Robb & Alesia to "let Katie go"... that “she’ll never walk again, bathe herself again, speak or eat again...never be off of a ventilator again...a vegetable...needing to be in a facility for the rest of her life"..... but a day that they cried out in faith and refused to give up hope. Yet, still.... a day when the world as they knew it was shaken to it's core and would never be the same.
The gunshot wound left a significant portion of Katie's face missing, but miraculously missed her brain. For the past 4 years & 7 months, through numerous emergency and planned hospital stays including over 25 surgeries, Katie has journeyed from her life hanging in the balance to the treacherous, yet miraculous, road of radical, reconstructive, redemptive and restorative healing. And since that instant over 4 1/2 years ago... Robb & Alesia gave up everything they had and knew to heroically provide complete, ever-so-watchful 24/7 care for Katie through it all.
No job. No income. No home to call their own. Instead, they have lived at the Ronald McDonald House in a single room for the past 4 1/2 years. A blessing that met their need for shelter within walking distance of the Cleveland Clinic but just imagine the three of them living in this small of a space for so long.... 2 double beds, a closet, bathroom, dresser & table. That's all that was there when I stayed with them on my last visit.
But God was continuing to write Katie's story in a big way. On May 3, 2017, through a 31 hour surgery, Katie received the amazing gift of a full face transplant... the youngest face transplant recipient in the history of the U.S. An event so significant that National Geographic covered Katie's journey as their cover story of the Sept. 2018 edition. You can see/read it here:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/09/face transplant-katie-stubblefield-story-identity-surgery-science/
Since the transplant & over the past year, Katie has continued to fight an amazing fight of healing & strengthening. And so the time has come for them to leave the Ronald McDonald House and find a place of their own. And they need to find it quickly.
In honor & celebration of Katie's 23rd birthday (10/13/18), our goal is to raise $23,000.... a thousand dollars for every year of her precious life. This amount will provide a year's worth of rent plus a little extra to help with move-in necessities as they are completely starting over.
The need is urgent as we need to raise the funds within the next 4 weeks. The Ronald McDonald House won't kick them out but has asked them to make preparations to move and we'd love them to be able to be settled in their new place before the holidays!
The Stubblefield's are not picky... they just need a small home to rent that is in a safe area within about 20 minutes of the Cleveland Clinic so that Katie can continue to receive care from her amazing team of doctors there and mold-free to not compromise Katie's health due to her low immune system.
But who will rent to a family who has not had any steady income for the past 4+ years? That's where we can help!
Please share the link to this Go Fund Me page on all of your social media outlets (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). Post your gift then encourage your network to donate matching funds and watch the compounding results! Will you help us get there? No donation is too small!
In Katie's own words... "Life is a gift.... a wonderful, tremendous gift". Together, we can give the Stubblefield's the gift of a new beginning & new season of life... one door of HOPE after another! We thank you in advance for your help.
To "meet" the Stubblefield family and learn more about their journey, please click on any of the links below. *NOTE... the Stubblefield's have NOT received any financial compensation for any interview or story coverage. It is simply Katie & her parents' hope that sharing Katie's journey will help someone else.
National Geographic-
https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/magazine/1809-ngm-katies-new-face
BCC News-
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-45342807/katie-stubblefield-coping-with-our-daughter-s-new-face?fbclid=IwAR3UfXRi2dltQ0KasIFCkgvG7rdmvp-B6MGUjdtcO9FOiN4aCFyDTfltimo
CBN News -
https://www.facebook.com/cbnnews/videos/496594067524169/
ABC Nightline with JuJu Chang -
https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/uss-youngest-face-transplant-recipient-shares-story-suicide-58222076
Robb sharing about how instrumental the Ronald McDonald House has been to their family in their time of need
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iRMnU2tDYE
How do I know the Stubblefields you may ask???
I spent several joy-filled years teaching kindergarten with Alesia in Lakeland, Fl where Katie also went to school. Alesia quickly became one of my dearest friends and was also my son's teacher as well. I love and admire her family more than ever for their devoted love, steadfast resiliency and unwavering faith throughout this journey.
The gunshot wound left a significant portion of Katie's face missing, but miraculously missed her brain. For the past 4 years & 7 months, through numerous emergency and planned hospital stays including over 25 surgeries, Katie has journeyed from her life hanging in the balance to the treacherous, yet miraculous, road of radical, reconstructive, redemptive and restorative healing. And since that instant over 4 1/2 years ago... Robb & Alesia gave up everything they had and knew to heroically provide complete, ever-so-watchful 24/7 care for Katie through it all.
No job. No income. No home to call their own. Instead, they have lived at the Ronald McDonald House in a single room for the past 4 1/2 years. A blessing that met their need for shelter within walking distance of the Cleveland Clinic but just imagine the three of them living in this small of a space for so long.... 2 double beds, a closet, bathroom, dresser & table. That's all that was there when I stayed with them on my last visit.
But God was continuing to write Katie's story in a big way. On May 3, 2017, through a 31 hour surgery, Katie received the amazing gift of a full face transplant... the youngest face transplant recipient in the history of the U.S. An event so significant that National Geographic covered Katie's journey as their cover story of the Sept. 2018 edition. You can see/read it here:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/09/face transplant-katie-stubblefield-story-identity-surgery-science/
Since the transplant & over the past year, Katie has continued to fight an amazing fight of healing & strengthening. And so the time has come for them to leave the Ronald McDonald House and find a place of their own. And they need to find it quickly.
In honor & celebration of Katie's 23rd birthday (10/13/18), our goal is to raise $23,000.... a thousand dollars for every year of her precious life. This amount will provide a year's worth of rent plus a little extra to help with move-in necessities as they are completely starting over.
The need is urgent as we need to raise the funds within the next 4 weeks. The Ronald McDonald House won't kick them out but has asked them to make preparations to move and we'd love them to be able to be settled in their new place before the holidays!
The Stubblefield's are not picky... they just need a small home to rent that is in a safe area within about 20 minutes of the Cleveland Clinic so that Katie can continue to receive care from her amazing team of doctors there and mold-free to not compromise Katie's health due to her low immune system.
But who will rent to a family who has not had any steady income for the past 4+ years? That's where we can help!
Please share the link to this Go Fund Me page on all of your social media outlets (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). Post your gift then encourage your network to donate matching funds and watch the compounding results! Will you help us get there? No donation is too small!
In Katie's own words... "Life is a gift.... a wonderful, tremendous gift". Together, we can give the Stubblefield's the gift of a new beginning & new season of life... one door of HOPE after another! We thank you in advance for your help.
To "meet" the Stubblefield family and learn more about their journey, please click on any of the links below. *NOTE... the Stubblefield's have NOT received any financial compensation for any interview or story coverage. It is simply Katie & her parents' hope that sharing Katie's journey will help someone else.
National Geographic-
https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/magazine/1809-ngm-katies-new-face
BCC News-
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-45342807/katie-stubblefield-coping-with-our-daughter-s-new-face?fbclid=IwAR3UfXRi2dltQ0KasIFCkgvG7rdmvp-B6MGUjdtcO9FOiN4aCFyDTfltimo
CBN News -
https://www.facebook.com/cbnnews/videos/496594067524169/
ABC Nightline with JuJu Chang -
https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/uss-youngest-face-transplant-recipient-shares-story-suicide-58222076
Robb sharing about how instrumental the Ronald McDonald House has been to their family in their time of need
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iRMnU2tDYE
How do I know the Stubblefields you may ask???
I spent several joy-filled years teaching kindergarten with Alesia in Lakeland, Fl where Katie also went to school. Alesia quickly became one of my dearest friends and was also my son's teacher as well. I love and admire her family more than ever for their devoted love, steadfast resiliency and unwavering faith throughout this journey.
Organizer and beneficiary
Angel Stevens Bates
Organizer
Cleveland, OH
Robert Stubblefield
Beneficiary
