Halley Martinez thanks the crowd of over 200 who came out to support them.
Friends, neighbors, and the business community really stepped-up on Sunday night at Sketties Restaurant in Marmora for a fundraiser benefiting the Martinez family. The parking lot looked like it was mid-July and the restaurant was filled with supporters.
Over 200 people packed the restaurant to enjoy an Italian buffet, pizza from Tony P's, the sounds of local band Thriving Seas, and the opportunity to win 80 raffle and silent auction items.
From the moment that you walked through the doors of Sketties, you could tell that there was a lot for support for Teudy.
Teudy Martinez was tragically injured in a swimming accident in July of 2016 on Brigantine beach. The accident left him a quadriplegic and in need of intense treatment and rehabilitation.
A treatment program that has been showing great progress for Teudy is called Project Walk. The unfortunate thing is that insurance does not pay for it and their family was going to have to discontinue his treatment because they could no longer afford it.
When friends of the family found out, they decided to take action and they organized this event.
Angie Jacobs was one of the organizers and she said "It is wonderful to see all of the community here to celebrate Teudy's progress. We just want the family to know that we care and will continue be there for them on this journey".
From Left to Right: Misty Aspenberg, Amanda Palermo, Addison Jacobs, Angie Jacobs, Patti Dowling,and Jennifer Polcini .
Halley Martinez said "This is all so overwhelming. I am speaking for both of us. We are so thankful for all your love and support". She recalled driving past the Tabernacle in Ocean City the previous night. She read the sign out front that said "Those who leave everything in God's hands will eventually see God's hands in everything". She said that it hit her at that moment, "we have done that over this past year and this is what has happened. We are seeing God's hands. We have been blessed unimaginably".
Halley continued on and thanked the organizers, the volunteers, the corporate donors, and all the individuals that came out to support them. She told them that "This is so important. We hope that someday Teudy can walk again, but even if he does not, this therapy helps him to keep his muscles and body in shape and flexible. We want to send him there as long as we can afford to:".
https://www.facebook.com/teudysroadtorecovery/videos/327651614307192/
Mike Lukens, Teudy's father-in-law said "This is amazing. What happened to him and the way the community has responded since day one. It has been a year and five months since this happened and here we are surrounded by the community. I am humbled to my knees. It is a testimony of what this community is all about when you get down to the nitty-gritty of it."
Teudy, a man of few words, said that he was "very grateful for all of the community support. It is really cool how the community comes together here". It was not difficult to see that his feelings were heartfelt.
Pictured are the members of the band Thriving Seas, as well as two of the therapists that work with Teudy at Project Walk.
Two of Teudy's therapists from Project Walk spoke about the progress that he has made and the value that he gets from the program. They expressed their gratitude to the attendees that they would get the opportunity to continue the therapy program with him.
Sketties was packed with supporters.
Below is a video that Halley Martinez posted in her facebook page after the event. She said that she was trying to capture all the people that turned out to help.
https://www.facebook.com/halley2/videos/10155076321190665/
