Stacey is a compassionate and loving woman who is also a first responder. She has been stuck in the hospital (with her heart rate alert dog Beau) there to assist her. Stacey has a blood clot that is 9 inches long in her right arm and has a fever and is septic on top of that. This has nothing to do with anything that she did or didn’t do, she has genetic clotting disorders and unfortunately got the short end of the stick with this one. In the week she has been there, she has been unable to keep her fever under 101 for more than a couple of hours at a time. She is septic, and the blood cultures keep coming back positive. Now it’s starting to take its toll on her heart, and some other body organs are being watched closely for failure. She’s going to need some help. Stacey has been a first responder since 2012, with certifications such as EMT. She was a lab instructor for some of the new groups of EMTs, and one of those students received a very prestigious award. She has given her all to her work and has helped to save more people than anyone will ever know. As her first responder family, we knew we had to help just like she helped other work families this year. Stacey is the kind of first responder who will help anyone that needs it and has been to so many fundraisers for her first responder family and never bats an eye.

They don’t know how long this could go for. On Monday, she will be having her first of a couple of heart surgeries, and she won’t admit it unless you are one of the few people she trusts, but she’s terrified. Stacey spent a lot of time working with her dog for heart-rate alert, and he has stolen the hearts of everyone here. She probably wouldn’t be as “good” as she is without him there.

Along with the heart issues, there are some TBI issues that are starting to show up as well. So a few of us here wanted to create a way for people to help. There is no obligation, of course, but if Stacey has been a part of your life and helped you out in any way—maybe she saved you on a call that got violent, or you were in an accident and she got help to you, remaining calm and collected, or maybe she was there for someone in cardiac arrest, or helping to talk a person off the ledge in the middle of a mental health crisis. She has put 15 years of herself into a career that has really put her through so much, and she still loves it. She would give anything to anyone to help them, so let’s stand up a little for her.

The doctors are still unsure about what exactly is causing her body to act up and shut down the way it is. So there’s no knowing how long this is going to go. And as she was about to start a brand new job in this EMS field, she has had to take a step back because they don’t know what’s going on, why the blood clots are appearing, and so many other things are happening. A return to work is going to be a ways off in the future. She is still staying pretty private about some aspects of the illness, but an ultrasound-guided IV insertion for a procedure. I’m sure she will open up more as she is ready.. Doctors are in and out of her room every couple of hours.

Her service dog Beau has been faithfully at her side the entire time, alerting to heart rates, keeping his momma calm, and anybody that knows Stacey knows that this dog is her world.

So we are starting with a fundraiser to help absorb some of the financial cost of being stuck in the hospital, not able to work, and an unknown amount of time when she will be able to get back to what she loves to do. She would have done anything for any crew member to make sure they went safe, has run fundraisers for them, and helped other groups of first responders put fundraisers together. We selected to tell her story and she agreed. so we figured as a group we would tell you this story this way. We started the fundraiser shown as made by her because dealing with a recent GoFundMe for a fundraiser that she led for a friend. It was such a pain to have to transfer the funds so we figured we would eliminate a step.

We are also thinking about her service dog Beau. If anybody is interested in donating toys, dog food, or coming to walk the dog, she would be beyond happy because that dog means more to her than anything.

If you are able to help stand up and help her as she tries to navigate this unforeseen medical emergency, we would all be so happy, especially Stacey. Allowing us to set this up for her was undeniably difficult, but she knows that she may need some help. So if anyone is able to donate to her, help her get through this, to help keep her service dog right by her side, where he needs to be at the hospital with her, anything would be helpful!

-Stacey says, “Thank you for your love and support.”

And myself (Mel) and Cali would like to thank you as well. And remember, someone is actually struggling, please make sure we keep everything positive for her. She would be there for you, and you know it!