MARYSVILLE — Lindsay Hills, 17, remembers the terror she felt when she underwent brain surgery in early 2007.
She also remembers the comfort when one of her mother’s friends, who had also had brain surgery, visited her in the hospital.
The emotions came rushing back to the Everett High School senior when she learned about Roy Fletcher, a 48-year-old Mountlake Terrace man who underwent brain surgery without health insurance to pay for it.
“I said, ‘Can we go and visit, and what can we do to help?’ ” Hills said.
On Saturday and Sunday, Hills and a handful of friends washed cars in Marysville to raise money for Fletcher, who has been hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle since suffering from a brain aneurism about a month ago.
The teens raised more than $700 in two days of scrubbing cars.
Fletcher’s brother, Henry Fletcher of Everett, said he is grateful for what Hills is doing.
“That kind of stuff, (my brother) really appreciates, that kind of moral support,” said Henry Fletcher, 49. “That kind of thing gives you hope, makes you want to try harder to get well.”
Hills made a near-full recovery from her brain surgery, which was to fix a previously undetected birth defect that could have caused a stroke or an aneurism, she said. The only lingering side effect from her surgery is the loss of peripheral vision in her left eye.
Hills lives an active lifestyle and enjoys dirt biking, swimming and weight lifting.
After her surgery, she was worried about losing her way of life, until her mother’s friend visited and gave her hope for her future.
“Lindsay just really felt like she had a gift the day my friend came and visited her,” her mother, Karen Hills, said. “She wanted to pass that on.”
Saturday’s car wash was also somewhat therapeutic for Lindsay, she said. She thanked her friends for working alongside of her, just as they stood by her through her surgery.
“It shows how much we do care,” she said. “These are probably the most nonselfish teenagers I’ve ever met.”
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
Give to the cause
Donations to help pay Roy Fletcher’s medical bills can be made at any Bank of America branch to the Roy Fletcher Medical Fund.
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