Help the Broering - Strutz Family
Donation protected
Hello, We are the Broering-Strutz family and thank you for hearing our story.
The provided picture is of us from Arielle’s recent “Make a Wish” grant.
We need your help to save our home. My name is Bernie, my wife is Karen, and we care for our 4 grandchildren, who are Aaron (age 20), Arielle (age 15), Allie (age 14) and Abigail (age 12).
The short version: Our daughter Kristan was murdered by her husband John. On Saturday afternoon, August 15, 2009, I got a phone call from John, that he was “looking for Kristan”. That was odd since she should have been preparing for her cousin’s wedding. Karen talked to him, and told him to call the police to get help finding Kristan. The police did find things odd around the house, but it took a bit of luck in finding something, her torso, in a garbage can going out to the curb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiTHrAbHBSM
From what I have heard, my daughter was sectioned up and tossed in various dumpsters, never to be found, but her torso was in that can. John was convicted of murder and sentenced 26 years to life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUU45yRzOw4&t=3s
Karen and I care for Kristan and John’s children – our grandkids. Two of three of them have Cystic Fibrosis (a lung and organ genetic disorder that causes ill health) and one of them (Aaron) has Cerebral Palsy and Cystic Fibrosis. Karen and I have used up our life savings in caring for our family over the past years. I have missed a couple of home payments and the bank wants to be paid. I don’t have the means to come up with the money, and taking a second job takes me away from helping my grandchildren and my wife at home. We’re not as young as we used to be, and my truck is 18 years old - and having problems. Yes it’s a Ford and it has been a dependable truck all these years.
For the full story, here goes, but I greatly thank you for your help!
Karen and I first met in April of 1982. We worked for a convenience store chain known as King Kwik in our hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. At that time our needs were different. My needs were to complete college, and my (to-be) wife’s was to earn a little more money for her and her child, Kristan, and her main occupation was assistant at a physician’s office. By the end of May we were in love. From that point, my then “to-be wife” went back to college for nursing, I finished my studies and worked for a communications parts manufacturer, and being a Licensed Ham Radio Operator was helpful. While I worked for that employer, the company merged with a 2-way radio service provider and I loved repairing radios.
The small business still was still not who I wanted to work for. My influence was my dad who was a Firefighter and who instilled Public Service into my life. He told me to try to get a job as a Firefighter with the City of Cincinnati. I did try and I did pass most of the tests except for one… I am somewhat colorblind and the City used a strict colorblindness test that failed me out.
All was not lost at that point, I found out the City also had a 2-way radio repair facility. I needed an FCC General Radiotelephone License, and so I took the test and passed. I applied for the job with the City, showed them my License and was hired.
At nearly the same time, my wife graduated, earned her Nursing degree, and tested for RN and passed easily. She worked in the Critical Care unit and picked up all the special nuances need to do the job. Critical Care (much less nursing) is not easy! Also, in the meantime, we were helping Kristan grow up.
With good jobs behind us, and after a long engagement we decided to get married . On the day of March 4, 1988, we were married in the morning, introducing ourselves to our friends and families as a married couple in the afternoon and moving into our new apartment that evening as a family. After a few months I was able to adopt Kristan and we were complete.
Soon after, we were moving into our first house, although temporary, while we planned on building our home on a plot of family farmland Karen received when she was a child. Her grandparents willed the section of land to her and it has been in her family for over 100 years. We drafted a set of house plans, presented them to several builders for revisions and received quotes, and soon we were looking for a bank to secure a loan. We sold our temporary house and moved in to my parent’s home for a while. With a construction loan in hand we secured the builder that could work with us. It took a little more than a year before we broke ground (mind you we were paying on a construction loan at that time).
My father in law contracted with the builder to dig the site and do all of the finish grading needed. In April of 1994 our home was finished. Occupancy Oked, so we moved in.
Over the next several years we dealt with smaller problems (ok I call them smaller but only in comparison to what is to come) and we grew stronger together. With my daughter in high school, I became a grandparent at 38, and it was not easy. My grandson, Aaron, was born at the end of March of 1998. 3 days later he had problems and had to be sent to Children’s Hospital to be confirmed. He was born with a heart “plumbing” problem, one side of his heart was pumping the blood that came from his lungs back to his lungs, and the other side was pumping the blood from his body back to his body. His saving grace was that his heart had two holes in it that allowed the blood to mix. After a few days to “fatten him up” he went into a 9-hour heart operation. The operation was a success for the most part, but during the next several days he was showing signs of yet another serious problem.
He was bleeding in his brain. Cerebral Palsy.
Over the next couple of weeks he recovered, came home with a bottle of oxygen and a blood oxygen monitor and after a couple of months he shed those items. My wife and I took custody of him to allow our daughter to get a college degree. But after a little more of a year of chef school, she came home. She got a job with a good employer at a nursing home. She also started dating a guy, a welder, who eventually married her. Their first years were productive. They had given birth to 3 girls. The oldest, Arielle looks so much like her mother, Allie is a typical redhead and Abby is a gem. Today they are all Honor Roll students.
There is a problem though, Arielle and Abby have Cystic Fibrosis. Shortly after birth they showed signs of the genetic disorder. What’s strange is that although Aaron (their older half brother) didn’t show these signs, he too (later) was genetically tested for Cystic Fibrosis and confirmed our suspicions. OK so I have a grandson who is a high functioning cerebral palsy kid who now has cystic fibrosis, and two granddaughters who have cystic fibrosis and a lone red head.
At least in Cincinnati they have a fighting chance. I’m not the only parent in this town to have to deal with Cystic Fibrosis. Remember a Bengal Quarterback named Boomer? His son is Gunnar and he too is dealing with it. Boomer was a blessing to the Cincinnati Children’s hospital pulmonary department, and so is Gunnar. (http://www.gunnaresiason.com/parents-role-change-years/)
Enter the Delhi Skirt Game Committee. Our community is blessed with these folks who work hard to help needy families.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avt6tfLMPLw
From the first year in 2009, they made sure that our grandchildren got gifts and clothes for Christmas, school needs, and hygiene care. They also help with some home expenses as well. These folks are awesome, but they can only do so much. (http://www.delhiskirtgame.org/)
(https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/delhi-township/2014/03/06/delhi-township-hamilton-county-delhi-skirt-game-delhi-police-department/6133833/)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiFM_Kqn59U
And that’s why I am here on GoFundMe, I am asking for your help. I know it was a long read, but thank you for reading about our life. Please consider helping us keep our home and help our community.
Thank You,
Bernie…
The provided picture is of us from Arielle’s recent “Make a Wish” grant.
We need your help to save our home. My name is Bernie, my wife is Karen, and we care for our 4 grandchildren, who are Aaron (age 20), Arielle (age 15), Allie (age 14) and Abigail (age 12).
The short version: Our daughter Kristan was murdered by her husband John. On Saturday afternoon, August 15, 2009, I got a phone call from John, that he was “looking for Kristan”. That was odd since she should have been preparing for her cousin’s wedding. Karen talked to him, and told him to call the police to get help finding Kristan. The police did find things odd around the house, but it took a bit of luck in finding something, her torso, in a garbage can going out to the curb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiTHrAbHBSM
From what I have heard, my daughter was sectioned up and tossed in various dumpsters, never to be found, but her torso was in that can. John was convicted of murder and sentenced 26 years to life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUU45yRzOw4&t=3s
Karen and I care for Kristan and John’s children – our grandkids. Two of three of them have Cystic Fibrosis (a lung and organ genetic disorder that causes ill health) and one of them (Aaron) has Cerebral Palsy and Cystic Fibrosis. Karen and I have used up our life savings in caring for our family over the past years. I have missed a couple of home payments and the bank wants to be paid. I don’t have the means to come up with the money, and taking a second job takes me away from helping my grandchildren and my wife at home. We’re not as young as we used to be, and my truck is 18 years old - and having problems. Yes it’s a Ford and it has been a dependable truck all these years.
For the full story, here goes, but I greatly thank you for your help!
Karen and I first met in April of 1982. We worked for a convenience store chain known as King Kwik in our hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. At that time our needs were different. My needs were to complete college, and my (to-be) wife’s was to earn a little more money for her and her child, Kristan, and her main occupation was assistant at a physician’s office. By the end of May we were in love. From that point, my then “to-be wife” went back to college for nursing, I finished my studies and worked for a communications parts manufacturer, and being a Licensed Ham Radio Operator was helpful. While I worked for that employer, the company merged with a 2-way radio service provider and I loved repairing radios.
The small business still was still not who I wanted to work for. My influence was my dad who was a Firefighter and who instilled Public Service into my life. He told me to try to get a job as a Firefighter with the City of Cincinnati. I did try and I did pass most of the tests except for one… I am somewhat colorblind and the City used a strict colorblindness test that failed me out.
All was not lost at that point, I found out the City also had a 2-way radio repair facility. I needed an FCC General Radiotelephone License, and so I took the test and passed. I applied for the job with the City, showed them my License and was hired.
At nearly the same time, my wife graduated, earned her Nursing degree, and tested for RN and passed easily. She worked in the Critical Care unit and picked up all the special nuances need to do the job. Critical Care (much less nursing) is not easy! Also, in the meantime, we were helping Kristan grow up.
With good jobs behind us, and after a long engagement we decided to get married . On the day of March 4, 1988, we were married in the morning, introducing ourselves to our friends and families as a married couple in the afternoon and moving into our new apartment that evening as a family. After a few months I was able to adopt Kristan and we were complete.
Soon after, we were moving into our first house, although temporary, while we planned on building our home on a plot of family farmland Karen received when she was a child. Her grandparents willed the section of land to her and it has been in her family for over 100 years. We drafted a set of house plans, presented them to several builders for revisions and received quotes, and soon we were looking for a bank to secure a loan. We sold our temporary house and moved in to my parent’s home for a while. With a construction loan in hand we secured the builder that could work with us. It took a little more than a year before we broke ground (mind you we were paying on a construction loan at that time).
My father in law contracted with the builder to dig the site and do all of the finish grading needed. In April of 1994 our home was finished. Occupancy Oked, so we moved in.
Over the next several years we dealt with smaller problems (ok I call them smaller but only in comparison to what is to come) and we grew stronger together. With my daughter in high school, I became a grandparent at 38, and it was not easy. My grandson, Aaron, was born at the end of March of 1998. 3 days later he had problems and had to be sent to Children’s Hospital to be confirmed. He was born with a heart “plumbing” problem, one side of his heart was pumping the blood that came from his lungs back to his lungs, and the other side was pumping the blood from his body back to his body. His saving grace was that his heart had two holes in it that allowed the blood to mix. After a few days to “fatten him up” he went into a 9-hour heart operation. The operation was a success for the most part, but during the next several days he was showing signs of yet another serious problem.
He was bleeding in his brain. Cerebral Palsy.
Over the next couple of weeks he recovered, came home with a bottle of oxygen and a blood oxygen monitor and after a couple of months he shed those items. My wife and I took custody of him to allow our daughter to get a college degree. But after a little more of a year of chef school, she came home. She got a job with a good employer at a nursing home. She also started dating a guy, a welder, who eventually married her. Their first years were productive. They had given birth to 3 girls. The oldest, Arielle looks so much like her mother, Allie is a typical redhead and Abby is a gem. Today they are all Honor Roll students.
There is a problem though, Arielle and Abby have Cystic Fibrosis. Shortly after birth they showed signs of the genetic disorder. What’s strange is that although Aaron (their older half brother) didn’t show these signs, he too (later) was genetically tested for Cystic Fibrosis and confirmed our suspicions. OK so I have a grandson who is a high functioning cerebral palsy kid who now has cystic fibrosis, and two granddaughters who have cystic fibrosis and a lone red head.
At least in Cincinnati they have a fighting chance. I’m not the only parent in this town to have to deal with Cystic Fibrosis. Remember a Bengal Quarterback named Boomer? His son is Gunnar and he too is dealing with it. Boomer was a blessing to the Cincinnati Children’s hospital pulmonary department, and so is Gunnar. (http://www.gunnaresiason.com/parents-role-change-years/)
Enter the Delhi Skirt Game Committee. Our community is blessed with these folks who work hard to help needy families.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avt6tfLMPLw
From the first year in 2009, they made sure that our grandchildren got gifts and clothes for Christmas, school needs, and hygiene care. They also help with some home expenses as well. These folks are awesome, but they can only do so much. (http://www.delhiskirtgame.org/)
(https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/delhi-township/2014/03/06/delhi-township-hamilton-county-delhi-skirt-game-delhi-police-department/6133833/)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiFM_Kqn59U
And that’s why I am here on GoFundMe, I am asking for your help. I know it was a long read, but thank you for reading about our life. Please consider helping us keep our home and help our community.
Thank You,
Bernie…
Organizer
Bernie Broering
Organizer
Cincinnati, OH
