In this TMZ world we live in that thrives on providing us with all the news on celebrities behaving badly, it’s nice to read a story about a celebrity who is doing something really good for someone else.
A 15-year old Florida girl named Teagan Marti sustained serious brain, pelvis, spine and internal injuries in 2010 when she fell over 100 feet from a free-fall ride in Wisconsin. The safety nets and airbags that were supposed to catch riders on this ride had not been raised during her ride. Teagan was in the hospital recovering both in Wisconsin and Florida for 3 months. According to an Associated Press article on the Access Hollywood website, she initially had no use of her arms or legs but is now able – because of physical therapy – to get around with the use of a walker, although she remains partially paralyzed.
Teagan’s mother has told the press that the family is in serious financial trouble because of all the medical bills. The parents divorced and their house is being foreclosed. Their insurance company won’t pay for any more physical therapy and Teagan was advised that she needed a therapy dog to help her recover, at a cost of about $6,000, which Julie Marti said the family couldn’t afford.
Enter Charlie Sheen. A Wisconsin woman named Lucia Wilgus had become friends with the Marti family after the accident and has been very instrumental in doing fund-raising for Teagan. In mid-February, she wrote to Charlie Sheen by way of his godfather, a Benedictine monk who lives in Wisconsin as well and is a friend of Wilgus.
The request made its way to Charlie Sheen and he wired $10,000 into the family’s bank account on Valentine’s Day to cover the costs of the therapy dog, saying the extra money was to take care of any additional costs. He also told the family “if there’s a need for more, I told them to call me”.
Right now, the therapy dog is being trained to pick up objects for Teagan, turn on the lights and be her constant companion to help her with all of the daily routine tasks we all take for granted. The training process is not only lengthy but expensive so the money donated by Charlie Sheen will be put to very good use and Teagan should have her dog in September. Bravo, Charlie. Winning!
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