Tampa brewery owner helping pay for 14-year-old's $14k surgery
TAMPA, Fla. - A 14-year-old hockey player at Bloomingdale High School has been getting around with crutches lately because of a recent diagnosis of a benign tumor in his knee
"The weekend of when the hurricane hit, I was playing hockey that morning, and during it, it just started getting worse and worse," Brendan Swearingen said. "I can barely walk, the more I walk, it starts hurting a lot more, which makes me not able to go to school, I haven’t been able to go to school all this week and all of last week because it’s been hurting so much, I haven’t been able to do any hockey."
His mom, Rachel Swearingen, scheduled his surgery, then got a call a couple days later to find out the cost of the procedure exceeded $14,000.
"How am I supposed to make that happen, I am unemployed, it’s 2023, rampant inflation everywhere, no one has that lying around," she shared.
Swearingen was laid off a few months ago, which means she also lost her health insurance. A more than $14,000 medical bill was out of the question. Her hands were tied, and she had to cancel the surgery.
Shaun Goeckner offered to help pay for Brendan Swearingens surgery.
"They weren’t willing to work with us on any kind of payment plan because the surgery is considered elective because it’s not life-threatening," she said. "If it was life-threatening they would work with us on a payment plan. Elective? It’s not like he’s getting a nose job."
She started raising money and said the outpouring of support from friends and family has been overwhelming, but she still needs to raise more to pay for the surgery.
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The owner of Bootleggers Brewing Company in Tampa, Shaun Goeckner, got word of Brendan’s story and said he’s stepping in to cover the remainder of what’s needed to pay for the procedure.
Swearingen plays hockey at Bloomingdale High School.
The timing should work out, where Brendan can be back on the ice and play in a special game at Amalie Arena next month.
"It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I told her, listen, I’ll pay for the surgery now, let’s get him scheduled, and when the GoFundMe comes in, reimburse what’s left and what you don’t collect, I’ll donate that," said Goeckner.
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