An Eau Claire man, whose family has dedicated their heart and soul to continuing the tradition of bringing families together in the heart of the Michigan fruit belt for decades, is now fighting for his life, victim of the rare Eastern Equine Encephalitis, and his family is reaching out for help.
Bill Teichman, a lifelong, third-generation fruit farmer and the very heartbeat of Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm in Eau Claire, has been an inspiration to the region just as his father before him and every other member of his generous and talented agricultural family.
Sadly though, he has been identified as having the rare EEE disease and it is beginning to take a heavy toll not only on his well-being, but that of his family and his long-running family-operated enterprise on Eureka Road in Eau Claire, innovators of the world-renowned International Cherry Pit Spitting Competition every July.
Bill and his wife, Monica, have dedicated their very lives to continuing the tradition of bringing families from far and wide to enjoy a day of U-pick, waffle boats, picnics, and the annual Cherry Pit Spit competition. Now, as he lies in the acute care of a Grand Rapids hospital, his family has launched a Go Fund Me account to help deal with the mounting financial burden they will face.
Bill is one of the hardest working, most genuine, intelligent, quirky, kind, and strong individuals in the entire region. He is a loving, husband, father, and friend, and inspires his children everyday. He inherited the mantle of patriarch at Tree-Mendus with the passing of his famed father, Herb Teichman who died at the beginning of the year.
Family members tell us that on Friday, August 16, 2019, Bill was admitted to the hospital with what is now known to be Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), the rare mosquito-borne virus that causes brain swelling. After being admitted to the hospital, his symptoms quickly worsened, and two days later he was urgently transferred to a Neurology ICU in Grand Rapids. He is now located in a Long Term Acute Hospital for the next step to his recovery.
Family members say, “There are small signs of improvement that give us hope but we know this is a very long road ahead of us.”
Medical costs are rapidly accumulating and the GoFundMe page the family has established will give friends, neighbors, customers, and fans of the Teichman family an opportunity to help Bill and Monica with the financial burden of the current and long-term out of pocket expenses.
Here is the direct link to the Teichman Go Fund Me page:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/bill-teichman039s-eastern-equine-encephalitis-relief
You can learn more about the rare disease of Eastern Equine Encephalitis by clicking the link below:
http://www.cdc.gov/easternequineencephalitis/index.html
Teichman is part of a recent outbreak of the disease in West Michigan and other parts of the country. The Berrien County Health Department says his is the first such case in the area since 1997. A Kalamazoo man died from the illness just last week, and a 14-year old girl remains hospitalized in much the same condition as Bill. Fatalities from the rare disease have also been recorded this summer in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
