If you don’t know Kia, she is the momma bear to our group here and has been the glue that kept TOTs together long before most of us joined. She is the one who will always organize events, volunteer her time at aid stations, and bring everyone snacks on our camping trips. She makes sure everyone is taken care of and safe. The same can be said about her partner, Michael. Since he started coming out to TOTs, he has been nothing but supportive and helpful. Last year durning a race, Mike had offered to run with me in the dark while it was storming, just so I wouldn’t have to be alone. These are the kind of people that they are. They both will go out of their way and sit in discomfort if they have to just to help others.

On Tuesday, Michael had a heart attack while driving his two daughters to school. They were extremely brave and able to get his vehicle pulled over and ensure that nobody else was injured. On Friday he had to have open heart triple bypass surgery. He is currently still in the hospital, but is recovering well.

A few months ago, Kia also went through some of her own extremely serious medical issues. She received a cancer diagnosis that required surgical intervention. Thankfully, she is now in remission and is fully recovered.

The months ahead are not going to be easy for them. Michael still has a long road of recovery. Between the two of them, they have two daughters 14 and 15 and a three year-old special-needs son that requires full-time care. Until Mike is fully recovered, the five of them will be living on a single income.

My hopes in creating this fund is that we can come together and support them by allowing them to focus on Mike’s recovery and make life easier on Kia and the kids in the meantime.

Please consider donating to their family and sharing this.

I know if it was the other way around they would do what they could to help all of us ❤️