It was on Dec. 26 that 55-year-old Darlene Reynolds woke up with a scratchy tickle in her throat. It was one day before she was planning to bring family members from as far away as Canada to a holiday gathering.
“I had no fever because I was constantly checking it – no fever, no fever, no fever. I said, ‘I will keep a distance, because I have a small cough,'” Reynolds said. .
The next day, family members showed up for the party. Soon, she said, people started getting sick.
“So we were sick, but we did not know we had COVID. We could have had the flu, but it was scary,” Reynolds said. “We were tested, and we tested positive. And then my husband tested positive the next day. And then (my daughter) got sick and she tested positive and my son was positive.”
A total of 18 family members, ranging in age from one to 62, became ill with the virus.
Reynolds’ son and husband, Stephen, ended up in the hospital, where he has spent the past nine days.
“He’s in the right direction. He’s going to need oxygen when he gets home,” Reynolds’ daughter Joy Purdie said.
Meanwhile, Stephen’s business, called Mini Movers, collapsed when their truck broke down and they now have no income.
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Lisa Riggin of J. Riggin Painting saw the story on Facebook and decided to step in.
“The truck has been standing for a month and they have not had any income and I just do not want to see them lose their home or business,” said Riggin, who set up Venmo and PayPal accounts on her Facebook to raise money for the family.
“People do not donate as much as I would like, but people respond. We had a guy donate $ 500 last night. He does not even know me or her,” Riggin said.
So far, Riggin has raised $ 4,000 for the Reynolds who are ever grateful for all the help they can get.
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