On December 26, 55-year-old Darlene Reynolds woke up with a tickle on her throat. This was the day before she planned for family members to come from Canada for a holiday gathering.
“I didn’t have a fever, because I kept checking it – no fever, no fever, no fever. I said, ‘I’ll keep my distance from when I have a small cough,'” Reynolds said.
The next day, family members arrived for the party. Soon, she said, people began to get sick.
“So we were sick, but I didn’t know we had COVID. We could have had the flu, but it was scary,” Reynolds said. “We were tested and gave positive results. And then my husband tested positive the next day. Then (my daughter) got sick and she tested positive, and my son tested positive.”
In total, 18 family members between the ages of one and 62 became ill with the virus.
Reynolds’ son and husband, Stephen, arrived at the hospital, where he spent the last nine days.
“She’s heading in the right direction. She’ll need oxygen when she gets home,” Reynolds’ daughter Joy Purdie said.
Meanwhile, Stephen’s business, called Mini Movers, was abandoned when their truck broke down and they now have no income.
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Lisa Riggin from J. Riggin Painting saw the story on Facebook and decided to intervene.
“The truck was stopped for a month and they had no income and I just don’t want to see them lose their home or business,” said Riggin, who created Venmo and PayPal accounts on Facebook to raise money for the family. .
“People donate, not as much as I would like, but people respond. I had a guy last night who donated $ 500. He doesn’t even know me or her,” Riggin said.
So far, Riggin has raised $ 4,000 for Reynolds, who is always grateful for all the help they can receive.
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