Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Feb. 2, 1984, edition 1 / Page 23
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Irary s lohinm Angere Shakeeka Richardsons Parents. Others « »■ ** rwier Post start vyrtter Kays Gary, colurhhlst for The Charlottr Observer, recently attempted to smooth some jagged re marks he made in refer ence to the plight of Shakeeka Richardson, and her parents Ernestine and James. When Gary wrote on J*m»ry 19, “Lack of money won’t prevent Sh* keeka from getting the liver transplant that is her only hope for life beyond • her third birthday,” be angered Shakeeka’s parents and many people in the black community who are working to raise money to cover the mounting bills created by the 2% year old’s illness. The result was telephone calls and letters to The Charlotte Post for another side of the facts. Shakeeka is the victim of biliary atresia. Medical reports indicate only one in 20,000 live births are af fected by the liver dis order. The liver which Shakeeka receives must be implanted within 12 hours after the death of the dqnor. When the tot’s parents are notified that a liver is aWdlable she wilTbe nihed to a Leer jet which is on standby at all times, and flown to a medical iKiucuram family to-looking for wart to a happier peae ikon the one taken a year ago, when Shakeeka’a liver center at the University of Pittsburgh for the trans plant The transplant itself is estimated at $100,000. Gary’s reporting that money was no factor in Shakeeka’s well-being, or dinarily would have been considered good news. However, "the statement wasn’t entirely true, ac cording to Mrs. Richard son. Now, she is afraid Gary’s airtide has misted the public to believe their heart-given contributions are no longer necessary. “If Mr. Gary had con tacted family members be fore printing the story, he would have learned there are a lot of finances that need to be taken care of,” Mrs. Richardson said. She was forced to resign from her job because of the seriousness of her daugh ter’s illness. Mr. Richard son is a bus driver for " Charlotte Transit System. Though Gary wrote an other column on the 24th • > V . * . S disorder wasn’t as severe. Pic tar ed left to right is her father, James, Shakeeka and her mother. Ernestine. and implied he didn’t in tend to cause people to think the family didn’t need help, Mrs. Richardson remarked, ‘‘the damage has already been done.” “I am dropping a check , in the mail today to the Shakeeka Richardson Fund....” Gary wrote at the beginning of his second column about the Richard sons. Minus whatever Gary decided to mail to Mech anics and Farmers Bank in behalf of Shakeeka, Mrs. Richardson reported about $2,000 in private contribu tions have been logged. Mrs. Richardson is grateful, and she’s always pleased when people tell her they will send a mone tary contribution. But many people are reneging on that promise. Not just private citizens, but organizations and busi nesses as well. Take the fundraisers which Gary mentioned in his column. Mrs. Richardson feels that if he had reported the results of those fundraisers he would have been able to report accurately to read ers that most of them were unsuccessful. As a result, the Richardsons received little and in one case no money at all. According to Mrs. Rich ardson and Mrs. Jether Funderburk who helps the family document finances, the most successful of the fundraisers was ‘'Shakee ka Day” which raised $380. “That money was paid immediately to Presbyte rian Hospital (Pittsburgh) for an evaluation exam ination which Shakeeka had in October. A receipt for that amount is avail able,” Mrs. Funderburk commented. “When the Mecklen burg Jaycees sponsored their pageant, I was told proceeds would go to Sha keeka,” Mrs. Richardson recalled. She continued, “When I contacted them after the pageant, they told me they had lost money on the pageant so Shakeeka See GARY On Page 7B COMEDY & COURT FAMILY FEUD Be there! Play along as folks fight it out for fun and profit with Richard Dawson! WEEKNIGHTS AT 7:00 THE PEOPLE’S COURT Peek into the courtroom as some way out people take their grudge to the judge!
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Feb. 2, 1984, edition 1
23
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