Help Christy with medical expenses

Hi. My name is Amy (Jacobs) Smith and I'm fundraising for my dear friend Christy (Dahlke) Hughes.

I met Christy in 1st grade and we became fast friends and remained close throughout school and beyond.

I have always found Christy to be a wonderful human being. Christy was a remarkable student at Lewis Central, later becoming a remarkable teacher at the same school for 20+ years. She is a mother of three, 17, 12 and 2. While caring for her own children, and the students in her classroom, Christy also chooses to foster children (14 mos and 2 mos old!). She tells her students every day "In case no one told you today, I love you!" She dedicates so much of herself to everyone, she wants every child to feel unconditional love.

Christy's life has not been without challenges. When she was 12, she was in a terrible car accident with her two brothers, that claimed the life of her older brother, Brian Dahlke. This accident sent her family on a rough trajectory for many years as they navigated the devastating grief of losing a young family member. Christy has since tragically lost both of her parents as well. Still, she has held her head up and powered on, making sure everyone around her is taken care of. It's worth noting that Christy has been further challenged by Cerebral Palsey her entire life. She was in a wheelchair when we met, and I had the honor of watching her grow into leg braces and eventually walking on her own unassisted! She has dealt with many surgeries and Dr visits over her lifetime, but always maintains a positive, caring attitude and a huge smile.

Recently Christy learned that she had a herniated disc in her neck. It is likely a result of injury from her car accident some 30 years ago. Her body held on as long as it could until it couldn't any longer. She had no choice but to receive surgery and FAST! As we all know, teachers aren't really swimming in cash. In addition, Christy doesn't have enough PTO saved up to cover her surgery and recovery time since it was so unexpected. Meaning she will be not only incur extensive medical expenses, but also lost wages due to the surgery.

Please help me help Christy. I'd love to see her able to relax, not worried about money while she recovers from this crucial surgery. Thank you!