Tea Community Comes Together to Aid Boy Without Limbs

Austin Schoppert is one brave little boy.  He's in kindergarten now and always has a smile on his face.  He's a normal boy in every respect, except he has no arms and no legs.

Austin was the victim of bacterial meningitis in 2009.  It was a form so rare that there are only four cases of it on average in the United States each year.  Doctors in Sioux Falls knew there would be amputations to be performed and on October 31, 2009,  Austin was flown to the Shriner's Hospital for Children in Cincinnati for the procedure.  This is how this brave little boy celebrated his third birthday.

Austin is now able to use prosthetics and is in therapy to learn how to do the everyday things you and I take for granted.  He recently got a motorized wheel chair to help him get around.

His family is as brave and courageous as he is. Austin's mother, Heather Coffee, is a single mom with 2 children: Austin and his brother Chance. Heather is a waitress at Chili's in Sioux Falls. Her love and generosity also extend to her niece, Ashley, whom she has helped raise.  Ashley helps with Austin in between high school classes and working at a day care facility.

One of the biggest challenges that the family faces is the size of their home.  There is very little floor space and narrow hallways. Even if there were wheel chair ramps for Austin to use, it would be impossible inside the home they have now.  All of the bedrooms are on the upper level which means that Heather and Ashley have to carry Austin up and down the stairs to and from his room.

None of the bathrooms are wheel chair accessible, and Heather has to store Austin's wheel chair in a heated storage facility across the street from their home.  The needs for a wheel chair accessible home will grow even more as Austin gets older.

A group of very loving people have gotten together to raise the necessary funds for Austin to have the home he needs. You can visit Austin's blog spot to learn more and to find out how you can help.

A fund raiser for Austin will be held at the Dead End Spook House October 27th and again on the 31st (Halloween) beginning at 6:30pm both nights.  The Dead End Spook House is located at 600 W Charish Street in Tea.  A free will donation will be the price of your admission to the fun.

Of course, your donation will go towards the home that Austin and his family desperately need.

The Dead End Spook House is also sponsored by Landreth Auto Body in Tea.