Student starts fundraising effort to help math teacher’s wife

During a casual conversation with first-year Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 Honors teacher Andrew Shoemaker where he detailed his life outside of the classroom, freshman Jonah Noralahi was immediately taken aback hearing about his teacher’s situation: Mr. Shoemaker’s wife, Diane, was recently diagnosed with Lyme Disease, though she had unknowingly suffered with it for two decades.

After telling Noralahi about how his wife’s health issues had led to the two being unable to travel, Mr. Shoemaker showed Noralahi a picture of an RV from Craigslist that he and Mrs. Shoemaker had dreamed of buying.

Immediately, Noralahi told Mr. Shoemaker that he wanted to help, and on Jan. 17, a few days later, he started a GoFundMe page.

Though at first uncomfortable with the idea, Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker ultimately decided to accept the help because of the severity of her situation.

For several years, Mrs. Shoemaker has struggled with sleep issues and multiple coughing fits that have spent most of her energy. These symptoms led to her feeling sick for approximately three weeks out of every month.

It was only until last year when doctors finally diagnosed Mrs. Shoemaker with Lyme Disease, along with several other conditions — sleep apnea, insomnia, leaky gut syndrome and Hashimoto's disease — that the mysterious illnesses finally began to make sense.

Lyme, a debilitating disease that can potentially become chronic if left untreated, is most commonly transmitted by a black-legged tick. The disease often goes undiagnosed as a result of its inconsistent symptoms.

The most prominent indication of the disease is the formation of a red bull’s eye-shaped rash on the skin; however, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 70 to 80 percent of people develop this mark. This leads to a considerable number of infected individuals — like Mrs. Shoemaker, who did not show any of the telltale symptoms — who remain unaware that they have the disease.

After her doctors diagnosed Mrs. Shoemaker with Lyme, the two speculate that she had most likely been living with the disease for approximately 20 years, causing the condition to turn chronic.

And while Mrs. Shoemaker’s immune system had been battling Lyme Disease, a slew of other diseases developed. For instance, the onset of her Leaky Gut Syndrome came as a result of her immune system’s inability to fend off certain parasites that would generally be shielded from a healthier immune system.

“All of these conditions are spawned from this chronic Lyme issue over potentially 20 years, which is really intense,” Mr. Shoemaker said.

 

Discovering Lyme Disease

Before Mrs. Shoemaker’s diagnosis of Lyme, the couple lived in Santa Cruz, where they grew accustomed to and fond of the outdoors. Mrs. Shoemaker once kept an active lifestyle and often they would enjoy hikes or go surfing.

However, over time she started to become sick and unable to carry out tasks that she had once been able to do.

Mrs. Shoemaker had previously worked as the founder and director of the Kekaha Community Garden and Resource Center in Kauai, Hawaii, the consultant for the company Ecology Action in Santa Cruz, along with working on her own business called Grant Solutions. But when the symptoms of her condition started becoming more prominent, she could no longer work and, as a result, she been unemployed for four years.

As the two started noticing her health deteriorating, they realized something else may have been adding to her problems —  toxic black mold had spread throughout their house. Since black mold is quite costly to remove and could still further result in a large range of health problems, such as chronic coughing and sneezing, the couple was forced to move.

Living in a one-paycheck household, the Shoemakers struggled with finding a new place, especially since Santa Cruz’s housing prices and rentals are difficult to afford. Luckily, after applying for jobs all over California, Mr. Shoemaker was hired by Saratoga High last year, allowing him to earn enough money to find another home in the city.

In the meantime, the Shoemakers were forced to throw out every piece of furniture they owned in order to prevent any mold from spreading to their new home.

“We didn't want to bring any of those microscopic mold spores with us to our new place,” Mr. Shoemaker said. “So, this past year we have had to re-purchase everything we own.”

The two had to buy the bare necessities: a new bed, couch, tables, cloths, sheets, coats, shoes and many more. As a result, the pair went fairly deep into credit debt, Mr. Shoemaker said.

 

A hope for the future

The pair’s plan to buy an RV ultimately emerged after realizing the extent to which Lyme had debilitated Mrs. Shoemaker — even a simple trip to family in Michigan for the holidays had become impossible.

With Mrs. Shoemaker needing to lug around her sleep apnea machine along with other supplements, they thought about buying a RV, which could act as a kind of “mobile home” for them when traveling.

“We had this idea of that being our new dream, to save up for a van,” Mr. Shoemaker said.

But after the two finally found a used RV, which was fitting for the couple’s circumstances in terms of space, the vehicle proved to be far too expensive. Hoping to keep their dream alive, the two explored other options and even applied for a bank loan that they were denied from.

Noralahi wanted to aid his teacher in accomplishing his goal of purchasing the van. Currently, after two months of launching the fundraiser, Noralahi has received solid support for the cause, raising slightly over $3,000 so far.

“I almost feel uncomfortable taking the money in a sense,” Mr. Shoemaker said. "There’s 10,000 more needy people and better charities out there. I didn’t expect any of this. It’s so kind; it makes me emotional. It’s really amazing.”