It’s our turn to help Scott and Carrie, let’s give back

Hi there, my name is Cindy Bonish and my husband, Pat Bonish, and I are local business owners in the town of Cedar Key, Florida. We became friends with Scott Larsen and fiancée Carrie Sager when they purchased The Lowkey Hideaway and Tiki in Cedar Key. Little did we know what a large part these two would play in our community.

Cedar Key’s most recent hurricane, Helene, was when their generosity, caring, and tirelessly giving back to our community really shined. Scott rallied a group of people from all over the US that volunteered for the cleanup of Cedar Key. These people worked tirelessly for months, trying to rebuild and sometimes tear down local homes to make way for a better life for the owners. He did this for free, and sometimes he even paid out of his own pocket until he just couldn’t anymore. He has literally been a Godsend to our little island. At this point, it is time for us to show them our appreciation and love.

Just into the first week of May, Scott and Carrie were finishing their workday, and Scott started feeling uncomfortable. He wrote it off as food poisoning and went home to ride it out. The uncomfortable feelings were getting worse; his stomach was starting to swell so much that he felt like it would burst. At this point, Scott asked Carrie to take him to a local hospital. On arrival, the hospital determined that he had more issues than food poisoning and went into emergency surgery. Scott had a lower intestinal blockage that had to be removed. During the removal of the blockage, the surgeon accidentally punctured his large intestine, which caused fecal matter to flow into his abdomen area. They were told that he was cleaned up the best as possible and was stapled closed.

While believing Scott was taken care of and was going to heal, they were not prepared for what was about to happen. Carrie noticed a foul odor coming from Scott’s sutures and brought this to the attention of the nurses and sought the opinion of the surgeon, who would not return phone calls or show up to the room. Scott was feeling worse, and they felt as if the staff was literally avoiding them.

Scott and Carrie discussed their options and decided to switch hospitals. Many other horrific situations happened before they reached this decision, and they felt if they did not leave, Scott would die.

Much to the hospital's dismay, Carrie put Scott, hospital gown, and fuzzy socks into her vehicle and drove to a different hospital. What they found in the new hospital is that Scott had to be reopened. The previous surgery had not attached the small intestine properly, and it was leaking into Scott’s abdomen. There was also a second puncture in his large intestine that had gone unnoticed by the previous surgeon. I believe this decision to switch hospitals literally saved Scott’s life.

Carrie has been at the hospital for 8 days now. Scott will need more surgeries to repair his situation. They both will be away from their home, their dogs, and their jobs.

This is where we come in. Scott and Carrie are small business owners; their income is determined by them giving 100% to their business. No one is sure right now when that will happen again. They have no idea when Scott will be released from the hospital or when he will actually be able to work again.

As any of us know, when tragedy happens, the bills don’t stop. Scott knows best! He pulled us all through the last hurricane, one home at a time.

Scott loaded my bar up into a trailer before the storm hit and unloaded it after. He hung drywall in complete strangers' homes all day long. He brought crews in to demolish homes for free when the owners were quoted 5-8 thousand to have it done. He did plumbing, digging, and backbreaking work for all of us.

Scott was the one who answered the call to bring a young man in off of an island after he suffered a major prop injury just before nightfall. The call was desperate, and he was told the young man was bleeding out. He went out by flashlight and brought that boy to shore.

I know dozens of people who have picked up the phone, asked for his help, and his response has always been, “I’ll be right there or I will get it taken care of.”

I’m asking for all of you to share this GoFundMe. I’m asking you to give back to a couple that has given so much of themselves to this island. I know they have touched many other people’s lives in every place they have lived. Please share, please donate, please help make their lives better as they have done for so many others.