Lets help someone who has helped so many!

Kathy Porter (Garcia) began her career in law enforcement in 1999 with the Tulare County Sheriff's Department. During her career with the Sheriff's Department, she worked both patrol and investigations. While in investigations she specialized in crimes against women and children. In 2014 Kathy was promoted to Sergeant.

In 2015 Kathy was hired by the Tulare County District Attorney's Bureau of Investigations as a Criminal Investigator. Kathy worked specialized units which included crimes against women and children, special interest cases, and Cold Case Homicides.

In September of 2020, Kathy began having health issues. She was diagnosed with Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO), also known as Devic's disease. NMO is a rare condition where the immune system damages the spinal cord and the nerves of the eyes (optic nerves). NMO can affect anyone at any age, but it's more common in women than men. Kathy has an unusually severe case that's baffling doctors in Stanford. Kathy has been off work since October 2020. She and her husband, Chris Porter, who is also a Criminal Investigator with the Tulare County DA's Office, have been to Stanford multiple times, spending over 50 nights so far in the hospital. Kathy is currently hospitalized at Stanford and has had no response to the treatment. She is unable to walk due to the disease attacking her brain stem and spinal cord. This is also affecting her vision causing blurred sight, double vision, and dizziness.

Once Kathy is released from Stanford, she is going to require specialized medical equipment and some remodeling of her home so she can more easily move around the house. This disease is also forcing Kathy to retire from a career for which she has so much passion.

Kathy’s family is a big part of her life as well. She loves spending time with her children and grandchildren. Kathy comes from a law enforcement family. Her father was a long time Deputy with the Tulare County Sheriff's Department as well.

Insurance isn’t going to cover all the costs associated with everything that she is going to need. The costs associated with travel to Stanford and for the remodeling of her house will be expensive. Any donation you can make would be appreciated by the Porter family.