Help Tucker Breathe (PHOTO: http://helptuckerbreathe.blogspot.com)
RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – Friends of a Central Virginia man in need of a double lung transplanthave raised nearly $30,000 in less than a week. The money, raised through an organized social media effort, will help Tucker Gordon’s family.
Gordon, 25, has cystic fibrosis. The Deep Run High School graduate is currently waiting to be transported to Duke University to undergo an evaluation to see if he will be accepted on Duke’s transplant list.
If it is, Gordon’s mother would need thousands of dollars to move to North Carolina to help care for Tucker. And that is where Tucker’s friend Marye-Ann Hill comes into the picture.
Tucker Gordon (left) and Chantel Wilson(right) as children at VCU Medical Center (PHOTO: Marye-Ann Hill)
Hill and Gordon met as children in the hospital. Hill’s sister Chantel Wilson also had cystic fibrosis. Hill befriended Gordon while she visited her sister.
The two remained good friends over the years.
Chantel died in 2010, one year after she received her lung transplant.
But it was through their experience at Duke that Marye-Ann, now 22, knew Tucker’s mother would need some financial help.
In order to help raise the money, Hill and her friend Lindsay England created #HelpTuckerBreathe to spread the word on Twitter.
England, who does not know Tucker but was inspired by his story, suggested they use the “Go Fund Me” website. In five days the pair raised $27,000. [Click here view the Go Fund Me page]
“Pictures and support are coming in from around the world, ” Hill said.
Hill said supporters have been tweeting Tucker’s story to celebrities, like Katie Couric, who then re-tweet the message to their followers. The result has been a steady stream of support and money into the fund.
