Charleton and Erika are both teachers in McKinney. Charleton is the PE coach and Caldwell Elementary and Erika teaches 2nd grade at Reuben Johnson Elementary. They have three boys. Drake just turned 5, Jesse was 3 and Reese will turn 1 this month.

Jesse, the middle child, was diagnosed with cancer in December of 2006. I believe he had a type of muscle cancer, and his prognosis was not good. Erika was pregnant at the time with their third son, Reece. This presented a huge obstacle, but they made it through treatment, and Jesse was officially in remission in November of '07.

Within a month, he was in the hospital with a collapsed lung. When the doctors went in to re-inflate the lung, they realized it was riddled with tumors. A different type of cancer had emerged, and this one was far more aggressive than the first.

Although Jesse fought a great fight and even made it home from the hospital for a short time, he passed away in March 2008 at the tender age of three.

Over the Christmas break, while the family was at the hospital, a toilet broke and water ran from the upstairs bathroom all day. The entire house flooded, and to make matters worse, their washing machine and refrigerator went out as well.

(The new Lowes on 121 is donating a new washing machine and Jennifer Little, Assistant Principle at Reuben Johnson is trying to find someone to donate a new refrigerator.)

I'm sure that you are aware of the medical bills that can build up over time. As teachers, once Charleton and Erika were out of days, not only were they not receiving a paycheck, they had to pay the district for insurance. Both schools have had fund-raises to help the family but it has not been enough. 

I reach out to anyone that cares to listen to please help this family anyway possible.    We are a strong community with helping hands and we can assist to help heal their grieving hearts.