Help the Tuma's: Health Crisis and Save their Home
You may know Refe and Susan Tuma, or may have seen their pictures of dinosaurs in scenes of destruction on facebook and instagram. They infamously began setting up dinosaurs in ridiculous scenarios to surprise their two daughters in the morning 8 years ago. This turned into Dinovember . The reason they began doing this was because one of their other children had such extreme trouble sleeping, they wanted to make sure their older kids were getting enough attention. This is the heart Refe and Susan have for their kids and their family.
What can go wrong has. The Tuma Family has been fighting. Fighting with everything. Fighting when one of their children got diagnosed with a serious medical condition that requires around the clock care. Fighting when initially doctors told them there was "nothing wrong". Fighting when they found out that there are only two specialists in the United States for their child’s specific condition. Fighting to deal with rising medical costs. Fighting when they almost lost their daughter due to a complication. Fighting when the bill came for the airlift and hospitalization that saved their daughters life. Fighting to make sure that their other children were not overlooked or forgotten. Fighting to survive, maxing out credit cards with little relief on the horizon.
Now the fight has taken their home. Toxic mold came in through their basement and has spread through the house. The house that has been the only stable thing for this family has now displaced them. They have been told that their home is now unlivable. It will require significant money to make it livable again, but there is no money to pay for an AirBnB, hotel, or sign a new lease in the meantime. This family is breaking and needs a break to fall in their favor.
After quite a few tests, attempts at repairing the problem on their own and in affordable ways, it has become clear that their home is not safe to reside in. About 80% of their belongings are destroyed and they are facing at least $75,000 to make their home liveable. Because of how mold developes, they have also discovered this is not covered by their homeowners insurance.
This is on top of already dealing with about $75,000 of debt due to medical needs from the last five years. And the medical needs of their children are by no means resolved. This amount will continue growing.
Susan and Refe didn't want to set up a go fund me. They are unbelievably selfless and still felt like this wasn't "enough", that other people need help more. There *are* many other people facing desperate situations, and they needing convincing that their situation was desperate too. However, once they got to a point of having no where to live and no way to pay to repair the house, Susan agreed to let me set this up for the family.
How can you help?
- If you know the Tuma family personally, they would deeply appreciate childcare for one or all of their children as they deal with mold remediation.
- They are currently figuring out where to stay in their area. Once settled in, hopefully today, meals would be incredible. (Their kids are allergic to dairy and soy).
- Please be praying that this avalanche of crisis and emergencies comes to an end. This family has dealt with more than anyone should ever have to handle.
If it is on your heart and in your means, please give whatever you can to help the family. The money needed will be used to:
a) Pay for temporary housing while fixing the mold problem.
b) Pay TO fix the mold problem to make their home safe and to replace necessities like mattresses and furniture that cannot be rescued.
c) Continue to pay for their childrens' ongoing medical needs and to pay down the medical debt that has accumulated.
Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this. EVERY dollar will help and any other type of assistance is greatly appreciated by Refe and Susan. They are already blown away by how their community of friends and family have come together to support them.
- Patience
Organizer and beneficiary
