I'm Matt MacDonald and my family has known Starla since 2008 when she first cut my hair. Soon, she was cutting the entire family's hair, and then soon she had half of our block as clients.

A few years ago, she made that leap and opened her own salon in Bolingbrook, and we continue to see her for cuts. She has been there for all the big occasions—proms and homecomings, to name just a few. She and her son Denis are family, and they mean so much to us. I know many others feel the same way.

Starla also works nights at a hospital in the western suburbs, and on the morning of 9/11, as she was coming home from work, she was in a terrible accident that resulted in broken bones, including her ulna and radius, which will require surgery. A cruel twist of fate for a small business owner who needs her arms to practice her craft of cutting hair.

I'm setting up this account to help offset bills for her expenses while she recovers from surgery. Please give what you can.