CHARLIE Sheen. File photo: ruben nepales
MILWAUKEE — There’s a 15-year-old Florida girl who didn’t really know much about Charlie Sheen before this week — but does now.
The actor wired $10,000 to Teagan Marti and her family on Thursday for a therapy dog to help in her rehabilitation from injuries sustained when she plummeted 100 feet from a Wisconsin amusement park ride in 2010.
“I think he’s a very kind person for helping me and my family and very generous,” Teagan said by phone Thursday from her home in Parkland, Florida.
Teagan suffered brain, spine, pelvis and internal injuries in July 2010 when nets and air bags that were supposed to catch riders on a free-fall ride were not raised. She had convinced her family to make the trip from Florida to Extreme World in Wisconsin Dells after seeing the amusement park’s Terminal Velocity ride on the Travel Channel.
She was hospitalized in Wisconsin and Florida for three months. She initially had no use of her arms or legs but through physical therapy is able to walk again with a walker.
Teagan’s mother, Julie Marti, said they are financially in trouble from the medical bills and her recent divorce. Their house is being foreclosed upon and insurance isn’t covering physical therapy anymore, she said. She had no idea how they would pay for the English Golden Retriever puppy.
“I’m in such disbelief,” Julie Marti said. “I was crying. … What a guy. What a guy.”
The dog is being trained to turn on lights, pick up objects and be the teen’s constant companion.