Community rallies in nursing student’s memory
“Maggie was hands down the smartest girl in our cohort,” said Taylor Hall, nursing student at GCSU. “She always had the answers to any question and was great to be around.”
Maggie was married and a mother of two. She began her studies at Georgia Perimeter College and then completed her core classes at GCSU. She started the Nursing Program in the spring of 2008 with one goal in mind, to help others. She was an extremely hard worker and constantly challenged herself to be better. Maintaining a 4.0 GPA is a true testimony to her dedication to school and her aim for success. This success all came to a tragic halt on Thursday Aug. 21 when Maggie ingested some pine nuts while cooking dinner for her family. The nuts triggered an allergic reaction and she went into anaphylactic shock. After a week of heavy sedation, the family learned that Maggie had suffered global brain damage and she only had activity in her brain stem. Maggie passed away on Nov. 9 after a hard fought battle.
To show support for Maggie and her family, her cohort wanted to do a fundraiser in her memory.
“We really just wanted to help out her family,” said Crystal Dinkla, nursing student and close friend of Maggie. “The family has incurred a lot of expenses from medical, to gas, and food. We wanted to do something tangible for them.”
Maggie’s cohort planned a fundraiser at the Chick-fil-A, on Hwy 441, during which all of the proceeds that Chick-fil-A made between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. would be donated to the family. The nursing students also offered free blood pressure screenings to customers.
“We wanted to incorporate nursing into the fundraiser as well. It is who we are and what we stand for,” said Dinkla. “Maggie would of done it also.”
To many of the cohort members there, the night was a great success.
“We wanted to come out tonight because it is giving money to a family during a very difficult time and I wanted to do all I could to support them,” said Joanna Freeburg, student at GCSU.
Many students from other organizations on campus also came out to support members of Maggie’s cohort.
“One of my sorority sisters was in the cohort with Maggie and it meant a lot that we came out and supported her,” said Ali Crawford, student at GCSU.
Other fundraisers for Maggie’s family are already in the works.
“GCANS (Georgia College Association of Nursing Students) has adopted Maggie’s husband and two kids for the holidays and will giving them presents during the holiday season,” said Dinkla. “We are also hoping to have a 5k race next semester in Maggie’s honor.”
Even though this is a difficult time for their cohort, it has brought them closer together.
“We were already very close, but this has made us realize just how close,” said Hall. “A lot of people have been very supportive and understanding through this time and we are all so thankful.”
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Nov 21 2008. Filed under News.
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