MILWAUKEE — Three decades ago, TODAY'S TMJ4 introduced you to a woman who despite being paralyzed, walked down the aisle on her wedding day. Now she needs help in her fight with cancer.
It has been a long road for 63-year-old Teri Lehner. TODAY'S TMJ4 first met her in 1990 on her wedding day. She fulfilled her dream of walking herself down the aisle. She became a paraplegic at age 26 after she fell off a balcony when a railing broke.
"I was in a coma for three months. I had brain injury and cracked my skull in a couple different places," said Lehner.
Teri has overcome a lot. She grew up in foster care after her parents died when she was 8-years-old. She put herself through college, worked for an insurance company in Milwaukee and became a spokesperson for the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. But then the illnesses hit. She survived ovarian cancer and the treatment lead to her small intestine rupturing. Now she has breast cancer.
"I will continue fighting it for the remainder of my life because I have breast cancer that is reoccurring. So it is driven by horomones," said Teri.
Teri moved to Las Vegas with her family as she continues her treatment. They remortgaged their home, drained their savings, but the medical bills have overwhelmed them. That's where her friend, Sandy Hrapsky, stepped in and started a Gofundme.
"She has a strength and inner strength that I don't think I have ever seen before," said Hrapsky. "She was nothing but positive. She kept saying you have to keep my job for me. You have to keep my job for me."
Teri can no longer work and the medical bills have topped $50,000. Despite everything Teri has gone through she still considers herself lucky.
"I say to myself well things could be a lot worse. I still have my sight. I still have my hearing. I can still think. I still have strong arms and shoulders. And hands that I am able to use," said Teri. "I am just very grateful and appreciate it."
Hrapsky hopes to raise enough money for Teri that she can pay off her medical bills and buy a new stand-up wheelchair that her insurance doesn't cover. For information on supporting Teri, click here.
