WAUPUN — The friends and neighbors of Candy Thomas came together to organize a fundraiser event last Saturday after she received a large unexpected medical bill earlier this year.
Candy Thomas manages both Kibbs Pub at 320 E Main St. in downtown Waupun, as well as bartending at The Legion Bar at 130 N State St. She has managed Kibbs for about 15 years and The Legion Bar for 5 years.
Over the last few years she has made good friends with the people living in the neighborhood around The Legion Bar, including Jay Graff, who lives just around the corner to The Legion Bar.
On April 27, Candy had gone to Graff’s house to check on his dogs while he was away. When she arrived she found that one of the dogs had gotten trapped in a recliner by its neck, which caused her to go into a panic in trying to get it out, which she was unable to do at the time.
She tried running to a neighbor but was unable to find anyone to help, and while running back to the house she began to feel symptoms of a stroke, including numb limbs and loss of eyesight in one eye. Candy managed to get herself to the hospital to find that she had suffered from a heart attack and a stroke.
“I knew the lady behind the desk and I go, ‘I’m not trying to be a drama queen but I think I’m having a stroke,’” Candy said. “And right away, they went into action. And as it turns out the heart attack caused the stroke and that it was stress related.”
While she was able to get medical care before it caused permanent damage, due to her lacking health insurance all her costs came out of pocket. On the doctor’s orders, she had to take off from work to reduce stress, further complicating the financial strain.
“But by the grace of God, I walked in, and I walked out and I’m still able to work,” she said. “I had to take a week off, they told me to relax and everything. But I have great friends and here we are. This is, it’s just so overwhelming.”
While the fundraiser isn’t expected to cover all of the medical bill, which Candy said was between $30,000 and $40,000, the hope of the fundraiser organizers was to put a big dent in it so she has less to stress over.
“It’s always been a touching topic for me because I know that unprojected debt is always a really scary thing,” said Jay Graff, who helped organize the event. “And I’m always concerned that, especially when a friend has an issue, they’re going to have severe financial hardships over something that they’ve got absolutely zero control over.”
Graff, along with other friends and neighbors, including Dave Kommes, Angie and Jeremy Stanek, and Marsha Jurgensmeyer got together to hold a fundraiser to help her out.
“We’re hoping we raise enough to put a little bit of a dent in it,” Graff said. “I’m pretty sure we’re not going to cover it but if we can help take a little bit of pressure off her that she can continue to have a little bit of quality of life here in Waupun. I think that’s incumbent upon all of us to do that.”
The fundraiser event was held Saturday, July 20 from noon to 6PM at the Legion Bar. The fundraiser included concessions, a DJ, silent auction, raffles, and games. 25% of bar tips during the fundraiser also went directly into the fund.
Candy was bartending the day of the fundraiser. Mayor of Waupun Rohn Bishop and his wife were also in attendance.
While the event itself is over, the organizers are still accepting donations if anyone is willing to pitch in.
“Donations don’t have to stop here,” Graff added. “If people are interested you can feel free to contact myself, Angie or Jeremy Stanek, Dave Kommes, or Marsha Jurgensmeyer, we would be happy to still funnel donations and to help Candy cover these exorbitant medical bills.”
Graff provided his email which can be contacted for more information, sgtjdg@yahoo.com.
Updated 7/26/24 8:16PM – Typo.
