School secretary gets devastating diagnosis, school rallies to send her to Hawaii

KAYSVILLE, Utah — She's there for the students and staff of a Utah high school, now those she has always helped have stepped up and helped her.

Debbie Hall has worked at Davis High Schools' counseling and registrar department as its secretary for 19 years. But recently she received a crushing diagnosis. She has Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

As the disease progresses, patients lose control of their muscle movement, eventually left unable to speak, eat move and breathe, according to the ALS Association.

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Hall received the diagnosis in September. Hall said her symptoms began in the voice, throat and lungs and will be more aggressive than most, KSTU reported.

Doctors have given her less than a year to live, so she's making every moment count.

That's where the staff and students at Davis High stepped in to help.

Her coworkers set up a GoFundMe page to raise the money for a dream trip to Hawaii.

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The response was amazing, as hundreds of students, former students, parents and teachers have helped raise more than $15,000 for the trip. The organizers are hoping to raise $20,000.

"We know how much her kids and her husband, her grandkids, they are the center of her life. We wanted to give them something so they could create a lasting memory together," Robyn Lawson, a counselor at Davis High School, said.

Hall and her family will be going on the trip after Thanksgiving. Then she'll spend a week with her grandchildren in Disneyland in December, KSTU reported.

Cox Media Group