Police officer starts fund for Charlotte girl hospitalized with serious blood disorder

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer has started a GoFundMe account to help a Charlotte woman whose daughter has been hospitalized for 17 days with a serious blood disorder.

Sonia Reyes lost her job at a dry cleaners because she’s missed too much work since her 13-year-old daughter Janeth was diagnosed with the disorder and then caught pneumonia, CMPD said on Facebook Monday night. Janeth has a disorder called macrophage activism syndrome.

Reyes is a single mom of four girls who also cares for her elderly mother and a disabled adult brother, the department said.

Officer Rhonda Murray said the family is “very proud” and normally wouldn’t accept help. But Murray convinced Reyes that this is a “special circumstance,” according to CMPD’s Facebook post announcing the GoFundMe site. The goal is to raise $20,000.

Murray got to know the Salas-Reyes family about 1 1/2 years ago when they attended the Kops and Kids Learn Spanish program. The family’s eldest daughter, Yazmin, has since also joined the CMPD Explorers program because she is interested in becoming a crime scene technician.

CMPD said Janeth is responding well to medication and her prognosis is good, although she will need lengthy medical treatment to cure her of the disorder.

While Choate Construction has adopted the children for Christmas, Murray said the family will still face economic challenges.

This story was originally published December 11, 2017 at 10:27 PM with the headline "Police officer starts fund for Charlotte girl hospitalized with serious blood disorder."