Support Christi & Andy's Medical Journey

GO FUND ME FOR CHRISTI & ANDY CLINE TO HELP WITH MEDICAL BILLS

My name is Suzann Riester and I live on 31st Street near Montrose Park. Most folks call me Zan. You might have heard that I am starting a Go Fund Me fundraiser to help Christi and Andy Cline in their time of crisis. This cause is very important to me because Christi and Andy have always been there for me, as well as many of you, in our Georgetown community. Whether it is walking our dogs, taking care of our homes when we are away, serving on community boards, or helping us through our own medical crisis, Christi was there with her can-do attitude and wonderful sense of humor and Andy was there with his beautiful smile and caring personality.

It is time for us to return that love and support in any way we can during their time of crisis. As most of you know, Christi suffered a stroke a month ago on April 27th while driving home from Annapolis. She was immediately taken by ambulance to the Baltimore Shock & Trauma Center and was there for four weeks. The stroke was a shock, especially given her level of activity and relatively young age. She ended up partially (and hopefully temporarily) paralyzed on one side. The lack of sufficient insurance made finding a rehab facility extremely difficult, but Andy finally managed to get her admitted last week on May 20th to the Adventist Rehabilitation Center in Rockville. Their acute physical therapy regiment for stroke victims is intense and she is making steady progress. The current plan is to release her to home care on June 7th, contingent upon her having sufficient mobility to function safely at home.

Unfortunately, their insurance will not cover Christi’s stay at Baltimore Shock & Trauma Center or the essential rehabilitation at Adventist as well as the follow-on home therapy. Combined with the initial hospital charges, their medical costs will be catastrophic. Many people have expressed a wish to help them out. I have initiated this Go Fund Me fundraiser for Christi and Andy to help them make it through this challenge.

Thanks in advance for any support you are able to offer, but of course this is entirely your choice. For those of us that have a somewhat cynical view of crowdfunders like this, I want to share that it was a difficult decision for Christi to allow me to launch this Go Fund Me, and it was only after much initial resistance and embarrassment that she acquiesced. Andy and Christi are used to helping the rest of us out, and asking for help was a difficult decision.

My goal for Christi's Go Fund Me is $200,000. This amount is based on the following:

1. $115,000 for the four-week stay at Baltimore Shock & Trauma Center.

- I have an itemized draft statement for $114,000 for this. It does not include her last day when she was released.

- Andy and Christi are applying for Financial Aid through the Center, so the cost may be reduced.

2. $50,000 for room and board and acute therapy at the Adventist Rehabilitation Center in Rockville.

- The cost for the first week was $14,805 not including the acute physical therapy.

- I am estimating $50,000 for the scheduled eighteen days at the facility. It could be a bit more or less.

3. $11,375 for out-patient or home therapy three days/week for three months.

- Estimated cost is $175 per hour for five days a week for 13 weeks

4. $5,000 for miscellaneous items and costs including transportation, medical apparatus for Christi to function at home, etc.

I will manage the funds and disperse them based on actual invoices. This will ensure we can account for all the funds raised through the GoFundMe site and will provide records to support audit.

It will mean a lot if you share this fundraiser link with others who know Christi and may want to contribute. The more exposure this GoFundMe receives, the faster we reach our fundraising goal.

So many of you have texted, emailed and called me to ask how you can help, and to ask me to send your love and prayers to Christi and Andy. Your warm and immediate responses have been, and continue to be, a testament to how much they mean to our community and to all of us. Thank you.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions.

Respectfully,

Zan