Family turns to Goodfellows after medical hardships turn life upside down

Candy and her family are the epitome of an example of how medical hardships can turn a life upside down quickly.

Between 2020 and 2021, her 2-year-old daughter went through three surgeries. Her husband was, likewise, going through several surgeries at the same time, including one that was just a week apart from their daughter.

Then, her husband, who was working in a nursing home at the time, developed COVID-19.

“We were told bronchitis and nothing to worry about. Just a few days later, right before Christmas, we got a positive COVID test on him,” Candy said. “By the 26th my youngest and I had fallen very sick and we knew we had COVID, too.”

In the midst of all this, her oldest child broke her foot.

Finding holiday joy is a definite challenge amid such turmoil. That’s where Goodfellows can help. The Star-Telegram charity has a goal of serving 12,000 children in need in Tarrant County by once again providing a $50 tax-free gift certificate for each child for new trendy clothing from Old Navy Stores.

In the spring, Candy’s family got some joyful news.

“In April my husband was ordained and we cheered,” she said.

But then...

“He went in for another surgery. Routine surgery turned into major and we are still recovering,” Candy said, adding, “My youngest was hospitalized with RSV in August.”

Through it all, Candy and her family have retained the faith of Job, to the point she still says, “It’s been a long hard road but we are so very blessed.”

About the Goodfellows Fund

The story on the Goodfellows website describes its beginning as an offshoot of the first newspaper charity drive in the United States, started by the Chicago Tribune on Dec. 10, 1909. A Chicago city attorney wrote a letter challenging his friends to donate the money they would have spent on holiday partying to charity.

A couple years later, the Advertising Club of Fort Worth staged the first local Goodfellows campaign. On the day after Thanksgiving in 1912, Publisher Amon G. Carter brought the tradition to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

For more information visit goodfellowfundfw.com. The new post office box for donations and correspondence is P.O. Box 149, Fort Worth, TX. 76101.

This story was originally published November 29, 2022 at 6:00 AM.