Donations Pour In for Disease-Stricken Husband of One of the Sante Fe Shooting Victims

Mourners gather during a prayer vigil following a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, on Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

One of the people killed in the Santa Fe High School shooting last week worked two jobs to help cover the medical costs of her husband’s deadly lung disease. Since the shooting on Friday morning, donations have poured into the GoFundMe the family had previously set up.

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Cynthia Tisdale was a substitute teacher who, according to her brother-in-law John Tisdale, also worked as a waitress at night in order to help pay for medical expenses.

The brother-in-law told The Monitor, “Since my brother has been very ill the last couple of years, she was a very excellent caregiver and she worked two jobs for extra income to help. She worked at the school and a second job as a server at night at an Italian restaurant chain.”

Cynthia’s husband William was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in December; the GoFundMe says he was told he had 12-18 months to live. The disease causes lung tissue to thicken or scar, which can interfere with the ability to breathe and can affect the amount of oxygen that the brain and other organs receive. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis has no cure, and few people live longer than five years after being diagnosed.

In March, the Tisdale family had set up a GoFundMe to raise money for William Tisdale’s medical expenses, particularly lung stem cell treatment.

Perhaps the saddest aspect of the Tisdale family story is that the first post on the GoFundMe states that the family hoped lung stem cell treatment would give William “a chance for more time with your momma (my wife of 47 years).”

Though that’s no longer possible, it does appear as though William Tisdale will have the opportunity to receive lung stem cell treatment, after all.

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According to the GoFundMe, the original goal was $13,000.

However, the page is currently at $103,099 – with funds donated or contributed by more than 3,300 people.

The family has noted that it was Cynthia’s death that made William’s treatment possible; an update from earlier this week thanks supporters while linking the donations to the shooting:

We are still in such disbelief that anything good can come out of such a horrific event…my mom always made good come out of bad situations though and this is no different for her. The amount of love and generosity our family and father is receiving is unimaginable. We don’t know how to put it all into words but thank you doesn’t give it enough justification.

Even in the face of unspeakable tragedy, humanity always seems to find a way to shine through.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent those of any other individual or entity. Follow Sarah on Twitter: @sarahmquinlan.

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