SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A Shawano couple is looking to pay it forward after receiving an unexpected gift while their newborn daughter was fighting for her life this fall.
When Chad and Cheyna Kary’s daughter, Georgia, arrived 16 weeks early, they knew they’d be spending most of the next few months in Green Bay instead of at home in Shawano.
“The whole experience is hard,” said Chad Kary.
Through a friend, the Karys found a home to stay at, about a mile from St. Vincent Hospital where Georgia was being taken care of in the NICU.
“She just handed the key to us and said here you are, here is a place to stay,” said Chad Kary.
“It was instant relief that it was one less thing that we needed to worry about,” said Cheyna Kary.
The Allouez home belongs to Eric and Anita Anderson, who live in Lakewood, but have kept the house for business purposes.
“It was just like a perfect opportunity to say go ahead, you need it,” said Anita Anderson. “We’ve been lucky. Our children have been healthy and our grandchildren are healthy so it just felt good.”
The plan was for the Karys to stay at the home for four months, but a month into their stay, Georgia had complications with pneumonia and passed away.
“The doctors and nurses did amazing things and did everything they could to help her,” said Chad Kary. “Unfortunately, she just wasn’t strong enough to pull through.”
In honor of their daughter, the Karys are planning to buy the home the Anderson’s let them stay in. They plan to call it Georgia’s House and let families in similar situations stay in it for free.
“It’s such a hard time during a child’s stay at the NICU, for the family, I think just that extra support means the world, so we want to make sure to give it back,” said Cheyna Kary.
“They were just so grateful,” said Anderson. “They wanted to pay it forward and they just did it, it’s like steroids, they’re going after it and wanting to make a difference in honor of their daughter, I just think it’s incredible.”
To raise money to buy the house, the Karys are having a day-long benefit on New Year’s Eve at their Shawano restaurant, The Launching Pad.
“We owe a debt to a lot of people and hopefully this is a way we can help repay that to somebody,” said Chad Kary.
The Karys’ goal is to raise $75,000. They say the Andersons offered to sell them the house for about half of what it is likely worth.
“It just feels good,” said Anderson. “It feels right and so we’re going with it.”
“I can’t wait to be the one that gets to go here is your key,” said Chad Kary.
To donate to the Karys’ efforts, a GoFundMe page has been set up.
