Below is an article written by Beth Volz about a Boulder Creek Family who is experiencing difficult, unforeseen times. If you’d like to help this family in their time of hardship, please visit: http://www.gofundme.com/RallyForRamey

Ramey White’s Arduous Journey Just Beginning

Can a story be heart-wrenching and heartwarming at the same time? Ramey White’s tale is both.

It began on Friday, January 23, when Boulder Creek resident Ramey White and his family were on a ski trip at Lake Tahoe for their six-year-old son Ryder’s birthday. But the next day, a devastating event occurred that would drastically change their lives.

On Saturday, Ramey spent the day teaching Ryder to ski. But when they returned to the car, Ramey told his fiancé, Lindsay Jamieson, that he could not feel his legs. That night, she massaged his legs, but he awoke in the middle of the night with excruciating pain and numbness.

Lindsey rushed Ramey to the nearest hospital, where doctors conducted a barrage of medical tests over the course of four agonizing days.  The doctors finally determined that Ramey had been stricken with Guillian-Barre Syndrome (Ghee-yan Bah-ray) or GBS. GBS is an autoimmune disease that attacks a person’s nervous system, causing paralysis throughout the body, including the lungs. Recovery can take up to three years.

Ramey was then transferred to the Neurology Department at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, and was placed in the ICU, where he spent 18 nerve-racking days.

In her first post on the gofundme.com site http://www.gofundme.com/RallyForRamey, Lindsay began: “It’s hard to know even where to begin. This last week, of this journey we call life, has been harder than anything I’ve ever had to endure. We are starting a blog to keep everybody who loves Ramey up to date on his progress.

“As the reality of the situation sets in,” she continued, “Ramey was our only source of income, as I have been at home raising our six-month-old baby and six-year-old boy.” She added, “This is very difficult and very humbling, but we realize we can’t do this on our own. His recovery will take anywhere from 1-3 years.  We are grateful for any donation, small or large, to help us get through this difficult time. Thank you all so much for your love and support. It means the world.”

When their neighbor Julie Grant received this news, she immediately swung into action. She posted the information on the Boulder Creek Golf Course Nextdoor.com site to rally others to help the family. “I felt very strongly that when people saw the post, they would pitch in and help our dear neighbors,” said Julie. “This is a very special, close-knit community, where people are eager to help each other.”

More than 320 community members swiftly responded through the gofundme.com site, and raised nearly $40,000 in 16 days. But knowing that more money could be raised to help meet the family’s medical and living expenses, neighbor Maggie Barr set up a Meetup site and recruited a band of residents to plan several fundraising events.

The first event is a tea and luncheon, with a musical performance by internationally renowned flutist Deborah Yates. The tea will feature a silent auction and door prizes with gifts from local artisans and businesses.

When: Saturday, March 7 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: 244 W. Hilton Drive, Boulder Creek
Tickets and Registration: Tickets are $30 per person. To register for the event, go to http://Bit.ly/rameywhitetea.

Neighbors are planning additional events for the near future. For information about the events, and to volunteer to help or donate raffle prizes, visit www.meetup.com/Boulder-Creek-Fundraising-Meetup.

The group encourages others to spread the word by posting the event on their Facebook pages using the registration URL.

Ramey and his family recently moved (from the ICU) to the Medical Center’s new long-term acute care hospital, where he will receive the highest level of care he will need for his long journey to wellness. He is still on a ventilator and feeding tube to keep him alive until his body begins to recover. Sadly, his illness is still progressing, according to Lindsay. “As of three days ago, his face started with paralysis, he can’t even blink, or move a single part of his body,” she said.

Somehow, Lindsay is managing to keep an optimistic outlook on this distressing situation. “This has changed everything about me, the way I live my life, my beliefs, my commitment to my community, and so much more,” she said. “I can’t even begin to describe the changes this will have on our lives. And we look forward to what is to come!”