#SullivanStrong movement spreads across country
RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – A Rutherford County family is “praying for a miracle” after a 10-year-old boy was pulled into a storm drain and left fighting for his life.
On Monday, May 13, Asher Sullivan’s family asked to “keep the prayers coming” after their son was pulled into a storm drain following last week’s severe weather.
The community posted a call on social media to show support for Asher by wearing his favorite colors, blue and green. That call was quickly answered near and far.
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“I think it speaks volumes about the culture in Rutherford County Schools,” Nichole Walje explained.
It’s a culture Walje knows of first hand as a former teacher in Rutherford County Schools.
“My heart, my thoughts, my prayers are with the family, the teacher, the community that surrounds the Sullivans,” she said.
A movement that started in the school system made waves across social media with #SullivanStrong. Walje, who now teaches in Ohio, showed her support for the Sullivan family Monday by wearing green to school.
“Seeing it in Alabama, Georgia, and any other surrounding states, it’s definitely really cool,” said Joanna Fleming, a dispatcher in Bedford County.
As dispatchers, it’s a call that tugs at the hearts of Fleming and her colleague, Carolina Galvan.
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“You always have that, you know, could I do anything differently, no matter the call us or any other kind of agency takes. Could I have done anything differently, you know, us being dispatchers, we were like, ‘Let’s show our support for the Sullivan family,’ but also from the dispatch side, too, and show the support to them,” Joanna explained.
A miracle is what Asher’s father, Dr. Jimmy Sullivan, director of Rutherford County Schools, said they need after Asher got caught in a storm drain and was swept under the neighborhood streets.
“It’s definitely heart wrenching; there’s no other way to describe it,” Fleming said.
Sullivan posted that recovery does not seem possible and that his family has some impossible decisions to make in the next few days that no parents should have to face.
“It is unimaginable. I think of that as a teacher and as a parent; it is truly just…it’s devastating,” said Walje.
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On Monday evening, Sullivan posted the following update: “We were woken up at 2:00 am this morning and told Asher stopped having any breaths on his own and that his eyes weren’t responsive anymore. We had planned to have some rough conversations this afternoon. At roughly 12:00 pm he showed the ever slightest movement in one pupil so doctors put everything on hold and we are continuing the waiting game. Blood pressure has been an issue and things seem to get worse at night so keep the prayers coming.”
While the Sullivan family’s future is unclear, the community’s faith isn’t wavering, standing strong. Sullivan Strong.
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