Christa is a patrol sergeant for the Mount Dora Police Department. She has dedicated the last 13 years of her life to serving and protecting not only her direct community, but also the immediate surrounding communities. Over the past 13 years, Christa has filled many roles.

During her career, she took on the role of full service K-9 Officer where she handled a Belgian Malinois dog named Titan. Her and Titan worked for 5 years to assist in the apprehension of felony criminals and get hard narcotics off the streets. Unfortunately in 2019, Titan was diagnosed with Aspergillus, a fungal infection that spread to his spine and turned into disco spondylitis, ultimately killing him.

Christa became school resource officer at the local school and during her time there she fostered relationships with the children and promoted safety within the school. She made sure daily that the school was safe and no harm would fall upon the people who attended or visited. After leaving the school, she went to be a patrol supervisor, which gave her the opportunity to fostering teamwork, dedication, and a sense of family on her shift. She lead her shift with pride and demanded the highest level of professionalism from all of the officers.

In 2017, Christa noticed a shift in health. She had been sick off and on, but always thought it was a cold or allegeries because she was working too much and/or some other environmental situation. On April 27, 2022, she went in for a CT scan with contrast of her abdomen for gastrointestinal issues.

This sent her into an anaphylactic shock and she was immediately rushed to the ER where she spent the next couple of days in ICU. This ER visit started a downward spiral of her medical health. Since this first date, she has been in the ER multiple times with multiple ICU stays. One of the last her anaphylaxis was so severe she had to be intubated.

Due to her conditions and how she was presenting, she asked to be tested for Aspergillus. After being tested, the test yield a positive test result. This was the same fungal infection that ultimately claimed Titan's life.

After developing seizures during her last hospital stay, she was confirmed diagnosis of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. This is a disease that has no cure. In addition to Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, it also has been discovered that she has POTS, Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Dysautonomia and many more.

Most of which are, like Mast Cell, incurable. This will be a life-long fight for her to stay healthy enough to function from day-to-day. Due to her medical conditions, she cannot walk unassisted and has been confined to a wheelchair. Her doctor believes her being in a wheelchair consistently may change in the future, however, he cannot be sure of that. This will be dependent on daily physical and occupational therapy appointments.

She has been told multiple times by multiple doctors she will never be able to return to where she was before getting sick. She has to eat a very strict diet, which can only consist of food that has no histamines in it. If she does it leads to severe reactions.

She has multiple doctors appointments across the State to include Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and her Mast Cell specialist in Clearwater, which her husband has to get her to due to her disability.

Some of the 20+ medications she is on has to be compounded due to her recent development of severe allergies and insurance will not cover the expense of these medications. Her mast cell specialist visits are also not covered by insurance, which is causing these to be paid out of pocket.

On top of her medical diagnoses, Christa has been recently diagnosed with work related PTSD. The traumas first responders see on a daily basis are 5 times what a normal person would see in an entire lifetime. First responders see these things daily. This will also be a lifelong struggle for her.

Christa will have life long medical expenses that will include medications, specialized medical doctors, and travel expenses. In addition to the medical, their home will have to receive handicap accessible modifications such as ramps, shower, and bathroom.

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