The Scarborough Education Association E-board presents Sue Blanchard with a check for the money raised from school staff donations. Pictured from left are: Stephanie Leonhartt (Secretary) Sue Blanchard, Andrea White (Treasurer) and Mark Tardif (VP of Faculty). Courtesy photo

SCARBOROUGH — Working in a school in the midst of a pandemic has certainly created challenges that most could not have foreseen a few years ago. Most school staff have been forced to rely on a support network of colleagues just to manage day to day. Unfortunately one of those colleagues, Sue Blanchard, has not only been trying to survive “the new normal,” but she is also fighting for her life.

Sue Blanchard is a lifelong Scarborough resident who was hired by Scarborough Schools in 2005. Until the fall of 2020, Sue spent her days working at Blue Point and Eight Corners in food service. Unfortunately, in September 2020, Sue was diagnosed with Constrictive Bronchiolitis and in May 2021, she underwent surgery for a life-saving double lung transplant.

Now Sue’s focus has shifted from fighting for her life to figuring out how to cover the overwhelming costs associated with her care. Sue has been a SEA member since 2007, and the Association wanted to do whatever it could to help her and her family. SEA leadership collected donations from Scarborough staff across all phases and disciplines to help Sue offset some of the medical expenses, such as costly ongoing medications, travel to Duke University Hospital for follow-up care, and medical co-pays. The Maine Education Association matched employee donations up to $1,500 with their “Partnership for Caring” grant program.

Over a period of a few weeks, Scarborough staff generously donated to Sue’s cause and the SEA was able to collect $3,531. The Maine Education Association’s Partnership for Caring grant added $1,500 and Sue was given a check this week by SEA Leadership for $5,031 to help cover her medical expenses.

Sue’s fight is far from over. Due to complications from the transplant, Sue is unable to return to her work in food service at this time. She continues to work hard everyday to get stronger. For those interested in helping Sue with her medical expenses, visit her GoFundMe page and consider donating: https://www.gofundme.com/f/sue-blanchard? utm_campaign=p_cp_url&utm_medium=os&utm_source=customer