Help Bo and Marla Through This Tough Time

1/7/25 update: Bo is coming home!!!

My husband is coming home! He will have a very, long road of recovery and we will be traveling back and forth to Nashville for neurological therapy, but the medications have controlled his symptoms well enough, he will be able to recover at home as long as he stays “episode free”. He will be wearing a heart monitor for several months and have many specialists appointments to follow up with, but we are confident we can care for him at home. We don’t really know what his recovery will look like or what his new normal will be, but God has brought him this far, and I know he will continue to heal Bo. We again, thank each and every one of you for your thoughts, prayers, monetary donations and the love you have shown our family. The support has been overwhelming and has lifted so much stress from our lives, we will just never be able to thank you all enough. Please keep praying for his healing and improvement as we have a long way to go. He will need a couple days at home to rest before we can start having visitors, just so he doesn’t get overstimulated, but we can’t wait to show everyone what God has done for him. ❤️

evening update added below 1/6/25

update added 1/5/25 below

updating to add, y’all Marla has cried for days at the outpouring of love and support. She is so humble and grateful. Thank you all so very much from the bottom of my heart!

if you know Marla and Bo, you know how amazing they are! But if you don’t know them, let me tell you… They are truly amazing people. Childhood sweethearts. Lifelong residents of Big Sandy. Both active in their church and community. Marla works at HCMC and Bo has been building houses and doing construction all his life. 2 beautiful kids. Just an all around amazing family. And all of them would take the shirt off their back for anyone in need. Bo especially. This family is always doing for others, selflessly. No matter who it is, if there’s a need, they do their best to provide. It’s our turn to give back to them. Bo is in the hospital and they’re struggling to find answers for him. (More info below on his condition)

Marla wasn’t crazy about taking up funds but at this time, we feels it’s necessary. So with her permission, I have set this up to help them. They have been in the hospital now for several days and they’re not sure when they’ll get to go home. When they do get home, there is a long road of recovery ahead of them and Bo will not be able to do construction anymore. He will need round the clock care for quite a while. He will need to travel back and forth to Nashville for apts often. We are gathering funds to help pay the bills and travel expenses. I will keep things updated here as to Bo’s current condition. Below are all the updates thus far. If you’re able to help, every Penny counts and is appreciated more than you know! If you’re not able to help financially, please pray for healing and answers for Bo so they can find a solution and get him home to his family.

This find me page is tied directly to Marla’s bank account.

update1/6/25

Good evening, friends. All praise be to God Bo was able to get up and walk down the hall and back this evening during therapy. The meds controlled his heart rate and significantly helped with the dizziness. He is still not ready to go home and will have a very, long road to recovery when he does. We are not sure now if he will ever be back to his normal, but just being able to stand is a miracle we didn’t think would happen either. We are trusting in God and his timing . Not having answers is hard, but we just have to continue to pray and trust in God, as it’s the only thing that is getting us through right now. He has some more testing to go through tomorrow to see how his stomach is emptying, but the scan of his gallbladder did come back good. Please continue to pray for Bo and his recovery as well as our family. ❤️

1/5/25

Good evening, friends. Today was a much better day for Bo. He was able to stand for a full minute on his own. He was still dizzy/lightheaded but his heart rate remained stable, which means the heart meds are doing their job. He has been able to sit up in a chair today, which is also a huge step for him. We insisted on a scan of his gallbladder and that was done this evening, we hope to have those results back tomorrow. Our plan for tomorrow is to stand for two minutes and walk a few steps. They are also going to send a GI doctor by tomorrow to speak with us regarding the weight loss he has been experiencing, we expect to have more testing regarding that too. The prayers are working and we are so grateful for the outpouring of love and support you have shown our family. I just have no words to explain our gratitude to you all.

Also, a special thank you to our friend Wendy for all the work she has done to organize the fundraising for Bo. Also, a big thank you to my coworkers at HCMC for donating PTO time to me, so I have more time to spend with Bo and see to his care. We have just cried today over the overwhelming support from our community. ❤️

1/4/25

I don’t have much of an update on Bo, unfortunately. The MRI of his head came back good as well as the ECHO. This is great news, but still no diagnosis. We are still praying for answers and his full recovery. The plan now is to just get him walking, even just a few steps without having episodes. They are changing up medications and trying different therapies right now to see if they can find something to help him. I come home tonight to take care of a few things while his mom is staying with him. Home just isn’t the same without him here and we are heartbroken he isn’t getting to come home as we had hoped. Please continue to pray for our family and his healing. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Goodnight friends.❤️

1/3/25 update:

I don’t have much of an update on Bo, unfortunately. The MRI of his head came back good as well as the ECHO. This is great news, but still no diagnosis. We are still praying for answers and his full recovery. The plan now is to just get him walking, even just a few steps without having episodes. They are changing up medications and trying different therapies right now to see if they can find something to help him. I come home tonight to take care of a few things while his mom is staying with him. Home just isn’t the same without him here and we are heartbroken he isn’t getting to come home as we had hoped. Please continue to pray for our family and his healing. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Goodnight friends.❤️

1/2/2025 pm update:

Good evening. Just wanted to update everyone on what I currently know. Bo is still not able to get up and stand without his heart being overstimulated, which then causes several other issues to occur. This is common with POTS, but the neurologist did say his condition just doesn’t fit some other symptoms he is having along with the heart being overstimulated. I won’t go into all those details, but there are other things going on as well. However, they are exploring all possibilities. We are still waiting on the neurologist to go over his brain scan and do his evaluation. We will know more as far as the neurological aspect of it once that has been done. We are relived to know that his heart looks good, but unfortunately we still don’t know the exact cause of these episodes and do realize there is no “quick fix”. The hospital and staff have been phenomenal and are doing everything they can to make him better. We have seen a team of different doctors and they have all assured us they are doing everything they can. They have also assured us they will not send him home until he can get up on his own again. I’m so thankful for the EMT & HCMC staff as well who worked so hard on finding the right placement for him, because I truly believe this is right where he needs to be. Please continue to pray for answers and Bo’s complete healing. I’m sorry if I haven’t answered calls, it’s just hard for me to not get emotional. I’m using all my strength to stay strong for him right now. We are a bit more hopeful today and had a visit from one of our previous pastors that lifted our spirits as well. I do appreciate all of your messages and prayers. We will forever be grateful for all of your support and prayers during this difficult time in our lives. We truly have some of the best people in our lives, and we do not take that for granted. ❤️

"Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them. Matthew 18: 19-20

1/2/25 am update:

Good morning. I just wanted to give a quick update on Bo. Unfortunately, everything is the same and we still have no diagnosis. We are at Centennial in Nashville and they are doing an MRI of the brain and an echo of his heart this morning. He is exhausted and of course worried about his prognosis and what his future holds, but we are keeping faith that God will see him through this. Please continue to pray they find answers today.

1/1/25:

Please say some prayers for our very close friends Bo and Marla Staggs. This family is very special to us and they have been friends of mine for our entire lives. Please pray for answers and healing for Bo. And pray for Marla as she hasn’t left his side and their 2 kids at home waiting for their return. They are exhausted but hopeful. Their faith is strong and we know God is by their side.