Dr. T "Toni Wright"

Dear Friends,

We’re reaching out to let you know that we are starting a fund to support Toni Wright (Dr. T) and her family, and your help is important.

We need to raise $16,000.00 to cover medical procedures, travel, and lodging for three treatments. She is scheduled to begin treatment on March 9th but will need to pay $6,000.00 -up front.

We all love Dr. T because of her generous nature and loyalty to those in her world. She is generally the first person at school, arriving as early as 6:00 am, and one of the last to leave. She is dedicated to her students and a fierce advocate for struggling students and a mentor to new teachers.

You may have heard that Dr. T is not feeling well or noticed a flag in her seemingly unending energy reserves that she has historically given freely to anyone in need.

There is a reason.

Dr. T is a patient at the Mayo Clinic for a rare autoimmune disorder that she has been battling for several years. Dr. T makes multiple trips a year to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona for extensive therapies and other attempted treatments, paying out of pocket for transportation and lodging. A recent fall caused tendon damage that is exacerbating her physical struggles as well as more pain and stress to deal with.

The Mayo Clinic is recommending Regenerative Medicine including Platelet Rich Plasma, Bone Marrow Aspirate, and Stem Cell therapies along with ultrasound guided percutaneous tenotomy. There is much research and proven results with regenerative medicine stimulating the body's natural abilities to heal and regenerate its own tissues, cells, and organs. In addition, such treatments can improve function and reduce the constant pain and limitations that Dr. T has been dealing with for three years.

Insurance does not currently cover regenerative medicine, despite extensive studies revealing proven results. Regenerative medicine holds the promise (and at this point the only potential) of convincing her body to heal itself, thus addressing the cause and not simply the symptom.

$20 k includes treatments, lodging, traveling expenses.

"At Mayo Clinic, an integrated team, including stem cell biologists, bioengineers, doctors and scientists, work together and study regenerative medicine. The goal of the team is to treat diseases using novel therapies, such as stem cell therapy and bioengineering. Doctors in transplant medicine and transplant surgery have pioneered the study of regenerative medicine during the past five decades, and doctors continue to study new innovations in transplant medicine and surgery.

In stem cell therapy, or regenerative medicine, researchers study how stem cells may be used to replace, repair, reprogram or renew your diseased cells. Stem cells can grow and develop into many different types of cells in your body. Researchers also study and test how reprogrammed stem cells may be turned into specialized cells that can repair or regenerate cells in your heart, blood, nerves and other parts of your body. These stem cells have the potential to treat many conditions."