By stonecreek342 at 2012-08-20[/IMG] The Taylor Woods Hope Fund is having a BBQ Fundraiser this Saturday, 9/22 @ Mount Zion Church on Hwy 50. It starts at 11 am and we'll be there until we run out. There will also be a bake sale with goodies such as tie-dyed cakepops, homemade caramel corn, pies, cakes, etc. There will be a silent auction with some AWESOME items donated by local businesses as well as some of our very own 4042ers!! HERE IS THE REASON WHY WE ARE DOING THIS:Taylor was diagnosed with a very rare disease called Endogenous Lipoid Pneumonia. It is an immune disorder that is basically making her body attack itself. There have only been a handful of people diagnosed with it, all who have been significantly older than Taylor. She is 17 years old and a student at West Johnston High School. She donated blood in February through the school’s blood drive and was so excited to be able to help people in need! The following month, she developed a dangerous bacterial infection which ended up in her bloodstream. This caused her body to basically “short-circuit”. She had 2 surgeries on her arm which had a HUGE hole in the exact location the needle went in where she donated blood. She almost lost her arm. Even after her second surgery she was still encouraging people to donate blood to save lives. Since March, she has been out of the hospital for a total of MAYBE 6 weeks. She missed half of her junior year and hasn’t even been able to finish her course work or take her final exams to begin her senior year. This has been an area of huge stress for Taylor. Taylor is fighting the battle of her life right now at UNC Children’s Hospital. Her huge team of doctors there has consulted physicians around the world and has been unable to successfully treat this horrible disease. She has undergone 4 treatments thus far that have not been successful. She is currently on a type of chemo in hopes that it will stop the progression. The doctors have said she has the lungs of an 80 year old. She is on oxygen, has had a chest tube, has fluid around the lungs and heart, and has undergone a plethora of tests, surgeries, procedures, etc. She begins to “de-sat” (oxygen levels plummet) from simply going to the rest room or changing her shirt. She has been a fighter through all of this. Taylor’s family and friends are vehemently planning fundraisers to help her and her parents. Taylor’s parents have been taking turns staying with her around the clock. Her dad works in a warehouse and her mom has many health issues. At UNC Hospital, parking is $8 per day. Taylor lives in Johnston County, so the amount of fuel being used is astronomical. We are also doing this to bring awareness to Taylor and this atrocious, life-threatening disease. We have opened bank accounts at both BB&T as well as the State Employees’ Credit Union. The information to give is on the pic above. For more info on the fundraiser, please check out this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/467223469975787/ Also, to follow Taylor's story and her PROGRESS, you can go here: https://www.facebook.com/TaylorWoodsHopeFund I would love for our webmaster to feature this information about the BBQ this weekend on 4042.com. That would be awesome! Most importantly, PLEASE keep Taylor in your prayers. Thank you.
Gotta keep plugging this...the child means too much to me and MANY others not to! Please come out and see what you can find. We will also have hot dogs for the non-BBQ eaters!
So, I admit, from the lack of response I received on here, I was a little worried! I am SO glad I worried for nothing!! THANK YOU for the amazing turn out! Thank you for all of your kind words, prayers, purchases, etc. A special thanks to the lady who came up towards the end who gave us beautiful, handmade "critters" to give to Taylor. Blessed BEYOND words. My girl WILL beat this thing!
