Support Tina Burke's Medical Recovery

On June 19, 2024, our dear friend and certified hair genius, Tina Burke, finished up with a client at her salon and decided to go home early because she wasn't feeling well. Less than 24 hours later, Tina was in emergency abdominal surgery and developed sepsis. She spent several days in the ICU and after failing to progress in her recovery, the doctors discovered a perforated colon, requiring a second surgery and leaving her with an ileostomy bag (similar to a colostomy, but draining waste directly from the small intestine) for at least the next three months. As a self-employed hair stylist, Tina has no health insurance and the hospital evicted her at the earliest opportunity without the benefit of home healthcare or other outside assistance. She arrived home yesterday, July 9th, and needs regular emptying/changing of the ileostomy bag, as well as wound care for a very large open incision from her breast bone to her pelvic bone. This gaping wound is required to be wet/dry packed and repacked 1-2 times per day for the next several months, until it is finally closed. With this large wound and ileostomy, Tina is obviously unable to work and her family will need to adjust their work schedules to care for her. If you know Tina, then you are familiar with her past and you know that she is a survivor. After a harrowing rooftop rescue from the rising waters of Hurricane Katrina, Tina and her family arrived in Prattville, Alabama with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Despite literally starting over with nothing, they survived and, relying on new friends and their faith in God, created a new life in our community. Now, almost 19 years later, this family is facing yet another crisis that threatens to cost them their home and put them into financial ruin. I have known Tina for almost six years as a friend and as the person who keeps my grey hair from overtaking my head. She also looks after my three daughters and their hair care needs. I can honestly say that I have never known a hair stylist who is as honest and conscientious in their work as Tina. She could charge far more than she does, but Tina keeps her prices as low as possible. As the cost of hair product and supplies has risen, she has agonized over even slight increases in what she charges her clients, absorbing the additional costs as long as possible before asking anyone to pay more. If you are one of her clients, you know this to be true and you know that if you went to another salon, you would pay far more for the same caliber of services, if you could even find someone with Tina's decades of experience. Sadly, Tina will not be working for the next several months and this loss of income, coupled with the cost of medical supplies and other expenses, will be financially devastating. At this time, I am asking for your help. I am asking because Tina never would. As someone who has benefited from Tina's low prices for years, I am happy to give back to her in her time of need. It took a great deal of convincing to get her to allow me to publish this request and the fact that she (reluctantly) agreed tells me how dire the situation really is. If you can contribute anything, no matter how small the amount, please do--every little bit helps! Thank you in advance and may God bless you and keep you.