Janelle Orchid, a mother of two, started a GoFundMe campaign after she lost her husband to a fishing accident on May 15.
Orchid saw an unfamiliar number continuously popping up on her caller ID. When she called back, the Mercy San Juan Medical Center said that her husband was there and they needed to see her. She was preparing to celebrate their seventh anniversary two weeks later.
Her husband’s death left Orchid with the task of telling their children, 2-year-old Jase and 1-year-old Kallie, about their father. “I always want them to know how much he loved them and they were always his first priority over anything,” Orchid said.
At around 3 p.m., Shaun Orchid was found by a witness that called 911 after they saw him in the water according to The Metropolitan Fire District.
The rescuers believe he was fishing for shad when he lost his footing, fell into the river, and his waders filled up until he got trapped underwater, Fox 40 reported.
It was hard for Orchid to imagine that her husband would die from drowning since he was an excellent swimmer and in high school held the record many years for butterfly style swimming.
She began to understand the impact her husband had on the lives of many people, when she was contacted by a man who said that he was 131 days sober because of her husband.
Daniel Ash, Janelle’s father, felt shocked and devastated because Shaun was wearing his waders when the incident happened. When Ash and Shaun would go out fishing they would tighten a belt on the top of the waders so that the water would get in slow enough for them to stand up again.
You can help support Janelle Orchid and her two children by donating to GoFundMe.
