The plight of one furloughed federal government worker's family recently got the attention of former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf.
Taylor Futch, a Gatlinburg, Tennessee, mother of two, first made news with a pre-Christmas tweet about the hardships of the partial government shutdown. The tweet went viral, liked some 58,000 times.
“My husband is a Park Ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and he had to sign his furlough papers,” it read. “We have a 4 yr (sic) old and a 4 month old, and we don't know when his next check will come. Mortgage is due, Christmas 2 days away. #ShutdownStories.”
n response, she received hundreds of tweets, a lot of thoughts and prayers, a couple packs of diapers in the mail and a few offers of money.
This included a check covering their January mortgage from Leaf, who saw her original tweet and reached out to her.
“You don’t know me, but my grandfather was a game warden in Montana and we spent our vacations going to our 2 (sic) national parks,” Leaf tweeted. “Anna, and my son McGyver & I would love to help with your mortgage if you will allow. #MerryXmas.”
Futch graciously accepted. Leaf, the No. 2 overall pick of the 1998 NFL draft who played only 25 career games in three seasons, wouldn’t take no for an answer..