We’re here to hold you up!

Teri was born September 4, 1956. She was an orphan at 8. She grew up in foster care until 18. She became a paraplegic at 26 from a fall off a faulty balcony railing. She survived breast cancer. She survived ovarian cancer. While the surgeon was removing her cancerous ovary, her small intestine ruptured. She was on life-support for three months. Those are the hardships Teri Lehner has faced in her first 63 years. Now let me tell you how she’s fought back. After foster care, Teri worked her way through college. She received a business degree for her effort, eventually becoming a project lead at a big insurance company. After the fall that left her paralyzed, she found the love of her life. At their wedding, she used a walker and leg braces to walk, yes, walk down the aisle. I know because I was there. She had two children. Volunteered at hospitals. She drove herself to work, her kids to daycare, whatever was needed using a specialized van. If anyone could complain, it’s her. But what would that do? So, she volunteered at hospitals, became a spokeswoman for the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. She kept working, feeding her family and maintaining health insurance. Despite that insurance and her efforts to always be above water, she now faces more than $50,000 in out-of-network bills and deductibles for her care. Teri’s been through enough pain; she doesn’t need financial pain too. And now, the woman who asks for nothing needs help. My mother, Teri’s longtime friend, established this GoFundMe to help. So that’s what I’m going to do, and I hope you can too.