Help Tucker Wood Fight ALS
Donation protected
****UPDATED 11/7/18****
As most of you are aware Tucker left Fessenden last week to spend more time with his family as his disease progresses. We started this campaign as a way for our Fessenden community to show solidarity with Tucker, and to help offset the mounting costs of living with ALS, and we are so appreciative of all the donations that we have received thus far. We are now hoping that we can grow the reach of this Go Fund Me though social media. We are looking to exceed our goal and quickly, as time is not a luxury with ALS. Everyone who knows Tucker knows that despite the devastating diagnosis, Tucker has shown such incredible strength and bravery and we are hoping that the contributions that we raise from this page will help to ease some of the financial burdens that he and his family will soon face. Please give as you see fit and make sure to share this as widely as you can. The more support we can get for Tucker, the better.
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We recently learned that a cherished member of our Fessenden community, Tucker Wood, a teacher in the Extended Day Program (EDP) and summer camp counselor since 2009, received a serious medical diagnosis of ALS, also known as, “Lou Gehrig’s” disease. You may remember hearing about ALS through the "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" a year and a half ago. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease to which there is no cure.
Most of us know Tucker as the good natured, friendly EDP teacher. For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to get to know Tucker as well, here are some of the things that we have been fortunate enough to learn about him. Tucker grew up in Coventry, Connecticut. He played college soccer at Albertus Magnus in New Haven, CT, and finished his history degree this year at Southern New Hampshire University. Tucker is a huge sports fan. He loves all our Boston teams, but remains a fiercely loyal New England Patriots fan! Tucker loves spending time with family and friends, reading, drawing, writing, photography and history. Tucker is an accomplished musician (he even has a kids rap CD). He has written a children's book and he is hoping to publish, so if you have any publishing connections please let us know.
Despite his diagnosis, Tucker is not backing down from life. His tag line is, "Choose to Live" and plans to live each day to the fullest and is documenting his journey through his blog (https://adventureoflivingblog.com). He remains energized and optimistic and an extremely positive teacher and mentor to our EDP boys.
Upon learning of Tucker’s diagnosis, our first reaction was sadness and empathy, followed by, “What can we do to help?" Naturally, we want Tucker to know that we care about him and his family and are here to support him in any way we can. To streamline assistance efforts (and to avoid burdening Tucker with questions of how people can help), with his permission we created this GoFundMe page to provide financial support to Tucker and his wife Lauren as they manage their uncertain future.
Right now, the most important thing for Tucker and Lauren is to embrace "the adventure of living". They love traveling and experiencing new cultures (they already planned a trip to Scotland and would love to travel to other parts of the world), going to Patriots football games, trying new foods (they are self professed “foodies”), going to movies and exploring and enjoying everything life has to offer.
As Tucker's disease progresses, his needs will change and they will need funds for direct and indirect medical expenses. The estimated yearly medical cost associated with caring for an ALS patient in the US is $150,000-$200,000. Our goal is to ease the burden of the costs that are partially covered or not covered by health insurance.
Fessenden is a school community filled with caring and compassionate people who support one another. Tucker and Lauren are incredibly appreciative of the kindness and concern shown to them, and are truly grateful for the help this fundraising will provide. Should you have any questions or need more information about how you can help, please don’t hesitate to contact [email redacted] or reach out to Robin Anderson or Megan Russel.
Thank you for all your kindness and generosity. Please share Tucker's story and this fundraising campaign on your social media and social networks so we can come together to create significant support for Tucker and his family. This gift from our community is a small way we can thank Tucker for the meaningful impact he has made in the lives of our boys!
Best,
Robin Anderson P ’23, ’27
[email redacted]
Megan Russel P ’23, ’25
[email redacted]
As most of you are aware Tucker left Fessenden last week to spend more time with his family as his disease progresses. We started this campaign as a way for our Fessenden community to show solidarity with Tucker, and to help offset the mounting costs of living with ALS, and we are so appreciative of all the donations that we have received thus far. We are now hoping that we can grow the reach of this Go Fund Me though social media. We are looking to exceed our goal and quickly, as time is not a luxury with ALS. Everyone who knows Tucker knows that despite the devastating diagnosis, Tucker has shown such incredible strength and bravery and we are hoping that the contributions that we raise from this page will help to ease some of the financial burdens that he and his family will soon face. Please give as you see fit and make sure to share this as widely as you can. The more support we can get for Tucker, the better.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We recently learned that a cherished member of our Fessenden community, Tucker Wood, a teacher in the Extended Day Program (EDP) and summer camp counselor since 2009, received a serious medical diagnosis of ALS, also known as, “Lou Gehrig’s” disease. You may remember hearing about ALS through the "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" a year and a half ago. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease to which there is no cure.
Most of us know Tucker as the good natured, friendly EDP teacher. For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to get to know Tucker as well, here are some of the things that we have been fortunate enough to learn about him. Tucker grew up in Coventry, Connecticut. He played college soccer at Albertus Magnus in New Haven, CT, and finished his history degree this year at Southern New Hampshire University. Tucker is a huge sports fan. He loves all our Boston teams, but remains a fiercely loyal New England Patriots fan! Tucker loves spending time with family and friends, reading, drawing, writing, photography and history. Tucker is an accomplished musician (he even has a kids rap CD). He has written a children's book and he is hoping to publish, so if you have any publishing connections please let us know.
Despite his diagnosis, Tucker is not backing down from life. His tag line is, "Choose to Live" and plans to live each day to the fullest and is documenting his journey through his blog (https://adventureoflivingblog.com). He remains energized and optimistic and an extremely positive teacher and mentor to our EDP boys.
Upon learning of Tucker’s diagnosis, our first reaction was sadness and empathy, followed by, “What can we do to help?" Naturally, we want Tucker to know that we care about him and his family and are here to support him in any way we can. To streamline assistance efforts (and to avoid burdening Tucker with questions of how people can help), with his permission we created this GoFundMe page to provide financial support to Tucker and his wife Lauren as they manage their uncertain future.
Right now, the most important thing for Tucker and Lauren is to embrace "the adventure of living". They love traveling and experiencing new cultures (they already planned a trip to Scotland and would love to travel to other parts of the world), going to Patriots football games, trying new foods (they are self professed “foodies”), going to movies and exploring and enjoying everything life has to offer.
As Tucker's disease progresses, his needs will change and they will need funds for direct and indirect medical expenses. The estimated yearly medical cost associated with caring for an ALS patient in the US is $150,000-$200,000. Our goal is to ease the burden of the costs that are partially covered or not covered by health insurance.
Fessenden is a school community filled with caring and compassionate people who support one another. Tucker and Lauren are incredibly appreciative of the kindness and concern shown to them, and are truly grateful for the help this fundraising will provide. Should you have any questions or need more information about how you can help, please don’t hesitate to contact [email redacted] or reach out to Robin Anderson or Megan Russel.
Thank you for all your kindness and generosity. Please share Tucker's story and this fundraising campaign on your social media and social networks so we can come together to create significant support for Tucker and his family. This gift from our community is a small way we can thank Tucker for the meaningful impact he has made in the lives of our boys!
Best,
Robin Anderson P ’23, ’27
[email redacted]
Megan Russel P ’23, ’25
[email redacted]
Organizer and beneficiary
Fessy Community Cares
Organizer
Newton, MA
Tucker Wood
Beneficiary
