Team up for the Teddy Rowe Family

We are trying to raise money to provide financial support for Teddy Rowe’s wife and children.

On the unseasonably warm afternoon of Friday, Feb. 15th, Teddy was working outside with his kids (Jaden 14, Peyton 13, Tatum 9), while his wife Jamie went into town for groceries.  As he was mowing a bee stung him behind his ear.  Teddy was an ‘outdoors man’ and had been stung before, but this time was different.  The kids said he complained that it was really hurting, and as they were walking to the house he collapsed on the porch.  He started having seizures, vomiting and passed out (all symptoms of an anaphylaxis reaction).  His oldest son Jaden called 911 and tried to perform CPR.  By the time his wife Jamie arrived back home, paramedics were on the scene continuing CPR and aggressively trying to resuscitate him.  Doctors estimate Teddy went 30-45 minutes without oxygen to his brain. 

He was initially taken to a hospital in Corsicana and then was transferred to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas late Friday evening.  Teddy was in a coma showing little to no signs of brain activity.  He was being kept alive by a ventilator to help him breath, a dialysis machine to help his organs function and medication to regulate his blood pressure while his strong heart worked on its own.  For 6 days we rode the emotional roller-coaster of waiting and wanting.  Waiting for test results we wanted to hear, waiting to see the signs we wanted to see, waiting for prayers to be answered the way we wanted them answered, waiting for Teddy to sit up and start cussing… wanting to see Teddy be Teddy.

On Feb 21st, Thursday afternoon we got the results we were waiting for but not the results we were wanting.  Neurology test came back negative, which confirmed that he was clinically brain dead.  Later that evening, almost like he was waiting for us to come to terms with the results, his heart stopped beating and he passed peacefully with his wife by his side.  Unimaginable heartbreak to say goodbye to her 40 year old husband she had been with since they were 15 years old, he waited until they were alone to do what he wanted to do and made that decision for her so she didn’t have to.  He was such a good man.

There’s more to this story.  Earlier in the week his son Jaden woke up one morning with his eye swollen shut.  It stayed this way for 3 days and we finally took him down to the ER, after 5 hours in the ER they admitted Jaden to Children’s Hospital on the other side of town for a severe infection caused by sinuses.   They released him for a couple hours on Thursday afternoon to say goodbye to his dad then he had to go back.  So instead of Jamie going home and preparing to lay her husband to rest she is still in Dallas with her child in the hospital, still waiting and wanting…

Please help us help this family by donating to help ease the financial burden that is mounting on top of their unthinkable emotional burden.  To recover from this they are going to need continued help, specifically the children, which is unfortunately going to cost money that they do not have.

These funds will be used to help cover funeral expenses for Teddy, medical emergency (including EMS and CareFlight) and ICU hospitalization expenses for Teddy, ER and hospitalization expenses for Jaden, along with related travel and personal expenses.  In addition, they were a single income family that will need financial support to carry on until Jamie can stand on her own.

As well as on-going counseling from Child Life Social services for the kids.  These children have a lot of emotions that they are not mature enough to understand how to deal with and it has affected each one of them differently.  They were the only ones with their dying father for 20+ minutes while waiting for paramedics to arrive, they watched while the paramedics worked desperately for half an hour trying to bring their father back to life, and they spent 6 days on a roller-coaster they weren’t old enough to ride.  They are going to need continued professional child counseling to help them work through it.

Teddy was a simple man; the most fiercely-loyal, hard-working, obnoxiously-stubborn, loudly-outspoken simple man you’ll ever meet.  He was one of a kind and he took care of everything for his family.

So many people have reached out asking how they can help.  This is the best way we can come together and provide support to help a lost family find their way.

As you can see we have set a hefty goal in an effort to not only cover current/upcoming expense needs, but hopefully to provide a little cushion savings to relieve some of the pressure in finding a job that will provide enough income to continue to raise 3 children. 

We really need this to reach as many people as possible, so please share our link to your social media pages!