Teagan Marti has a new angel watching over her, and his name is Charlie Sheen. Yes, that Charlie Sheen, whose unexpected generosity has enabled the disabled teen to get the rehabilitation dog she so desperately needed, but could not afford.
Teagan, 15, suffered life threatening injuries including brain, spine, pelvis and internal damage when nets and air bags that were supposed to catch riders on a free-fall ride at Extreme World in Wisconsin Dells were not raised back in July 2010.
After the accident, she was hospitalized in Wisconsin, as well as in her home state of Florida for three months. She initially had no use of her arms or legs, but through physical therapy is able to walk again with a walker.
However, her mom Juli had no idea how they would pay for the English golden retriever puppy needed for further rehabilitation after a recent divorce and mounting medical bills has caused their house to go into foreclosure, and insurance wouldn’t cover any more physical therapy.
It was then that a new friend, Lucia Wilgus, of Eau Claire, WI. stepped in began a fundraising campaign to help the Marti family after hearing of the accident. Wilgus sent a letter this week to Sheen through Sheen's godfather, who is a Wilgus family friend and a Benedictine brother in Benet Lake, WI. She estimated the training and related costs to a dog would be around $6,000.
In response, the actor wired $10,000 to Teagan Marti and her family on Thursday for a therapy dog.
"I like to pay it forward," Sheen said Thursday in a phone interview from Los Angeles. "People come into your orbit for a reason. You don't always know what that is ahead of time, but if I ignore these requests, then I don't have any opportunity to see where these things lead us, or lead me."
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