A Texas grandmother says she is grateful for the overwhelming response to an online fundraiser she started after her grandson lost his prosthetic leg in the Gulf of Mexico.
When Monica Swindall and her family headed to Galveston from her hometown of Waco on Sunday, July 28, the goal was a fun, family vacation, she tells PEOPLE.
But when her 9-year-old grandson Jayce, who has special needs, lost his leg in the excitement of being able to get in the water, the family was devastated.
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Wanting to help, Swindall posted what happened on a local Facebook group in the hope someone would find it. But with the new school year approaching, the Swindall family quickly realized that Jayce would need a new prosthetic leg — and fast. So on Wednesday, July 31, she created a GoFundMe.
In a message on the fundraising page, Monica said she contacted the North Texas-based company Stability Prosthetics, which has done everything it can to help the family.
“They only charge us $7,000 new, and I know it should be a lot more,” she wrote. (According to The Washington Postprosthetic limbs typically cost between $5,000 and over $50,000.)
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Swindall went on to say that for Jayce’s parents, who are currently expecting a new baby, the prosthesis, while necessary, was even more difficult to pay for.
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Fortunately, just hours after the family’s story was published, the fundraiser surpassed the $7,000 goal to get Jayce a new brace.
“It happened so quickly, within five hours,” Swindall tells PEOPLE of the online support.
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Now Jayce is ready to welcome the new school year.
“Everyone was so amazing,” says Monica. “I hated to see my grandson without a leg and I hated to see my son upset that she’s gone. But we got through it. He’s going to be fine. I’ll just say God is good.”
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Source: HIS Education