Christie Garrecht Fighter Relief Fund

For Christie Garrecht, service to others is a way of life. She started volunteering with and fundraising for a variety of charities from Special Olympics to ALS research early in life and continued that throughout her college career at the University of Scranton. 

 

Her dream, to work with children that are medically fragile, first became a thought when she was in fourth grade. At the time, she told everyone around her that she was going to work with children with special needs, dolphins and dogs and that she was going to visit St. Jude Children’s Hospital once she turned 16. 

 

Now, Christie has eclipsed those goals, doing two dolphin-assisted therapy internships for children with special needs and cancer, visited St. Jude for her 16th birthday, works alongside her certified therapy dog at nursing homes and hospitals and much more, all in addition to spending the last seven years in her dream career as a pediatric occupational therapist for children that are medically fragile, including those who have cancer. 

 

However, those goals have shifted as at 31, Christie was diagnosed with extra young onset sporadic colon cancer. She had no symptoms of the disease prior to having an iron deficiency picked up on routine blood work. Doctors thought nothing of it, but her gastrointestinologist suggested a colonoscopy just to be safe, which led to her diagnosis. 

 

Now, Christie’s goals are simple – to fight cancer with everything she has, maintain the home that she and her three dogs live in, and pay her medical bills, which have significantly mounted due to this diagnosis and resulting treatment.  By supporting her fighter relief fund, you can help her continue to do what she has always done – surpass every goal and continue to make the world a better place for everyone. Learn more and help Christie today: https://pledge.headstrong.org/team/524943