Community Gave Her $20,000, so HAVERHILL - The community helped Teresa Kroboth and her family to the tune of $20,000. The family used the money to buy what they called the Love Buggy - a van altered to accommodate a wheelchair that mkes it easier to drive 9-year-old Teresa to her medical appointments, Brownie Troop meetings, church and family gatherings. She has mitochondrial disease, a genetic defect affecting cells in the body that produce energy. In appreciation of the support her family received during efforts to raise money, Teresa has made a donation of her own. Her waist-length, light brown hair was cut for the first time in more than a year, and she plans to donate it to Locks of Love. "It is Teresa's way of saying thanks to the many people and businesses in the community that supported the fundraiser," her parents, Deborah and Mark Kroboth of Haverhill, said. Locks of Love is an organization that provides hair for wigs for people who have lost their own hair because of disease and treatments. The efforts to raise money for the van go back to 2004, when supporters of the Kroboth family had what they called a Love Bug dance at the Knights of Columbus hall in South Lawrence. Early in 2004, friends and family had persuaded the Haverhill family to ask for help in buying a wheelchair van to transport Teresa to various appointments. The family was able to raise thousands of dollars through the dance and a bake sale at the Tilton Elementary School. Teresa is now a student at Golden Hill Elementary School. She still battles the disease, which makes walking, sitting up, eating, talking, seeing clearly or holding a toy in her hands difficult. She spends her days at school in a wheelchair and uses an electronic device to communicate through a computer. "There is still no cure for this disease," Deborah Kroboth said. |
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