Beloved North Haven Teacher Diagnosed With ALS, Community Rallies

NORTH HAVEN, CT — The community is rallying around a former North Haven teacher who was recently diagnosed with ALS, according to WTNH News 8.

WTNH reports Christine Chromiak, a language arts teacher, was producing a middle school play last spring when she noticed her foot was dragging and a neurologist told her it was ALS.

While Chromiak and her husband – also a teacher – have since moved to Pennsylvania to live with her elderly parents, students at North Haven High School have let her know how much she is missed and loved through fundraising efforts and personal notes, according to WTNH.

A GoFundMe campaign was recently launched in support of Chromiak.

“We - her friends and family - are rallying to support her through the treatments and the costs they will procure over the next few months (wheelchairs, specialist care, home-outfitting, etc.),” Katy Super, one of Chromiak’s nieces, wrote on the GoFundMe page. “We hope that you may consider supporting Chris with a financial contribution of any kind here— and of course, with your positive energy or prayers you send her way.

“I cannot pretend I am nearly as gifted with words as my Aunt Chris. Her annual Christmas letters and just her manner of speaking usually provide a lot of unknowingly needed and heartwarming clarity— something I know she needs now— and her loved ones as well.

“But in my more fumbling words, I can say that I love my Aunt Chris, and am so immensely grateful for any and all help you are able to give.”

The GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $13,800 as of Monday night.

For more information, or to make a donation, visit the GoFundMe page here.

Read more at WTNH News 8 here.