Saturday parking lot sale at John L. Scott office to benefit injured agent

Cathy Steiner

Rick Spellman, an Edmonds resident who works in the John L. Scott office in Lynnwood, let us know about an event Saturday in neighboring Lynnwood for a very good cause: A massive parking lot garage sale in the John L. Scott parking lot to benefit a real estate agent who was severely injured in an accident earlier this summer.

The daylong parking lot sale, which runs from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. at 19221 36th Ave. W., will benefit 52-year-old Cathy Steiner, an agent in the Lynnwood office who became paralyzed in a fall on June 30.

According to Spellman, Cathy — a Snohomish resident — fell as she ran up the steps to help a neighbor who was having a medical emergency. Her neck was broken,with vertebrae crushed  and her spinal cord partially severed. Two ambulances came that night — one for the neighbor, one for Cathy. The neighbor is fine and back at home; Cathy unfortunately is now a paraplegic. That fateful evening also happened to be  her 26th wedding anniversary.

In addition to helping Cathy recover from a catastrophic spinal cord injury, the family is facing other challenges. The day before Cathy’s accident, her husband was laid off from his job. Their house is now in foreclosure, and they have moved into a rental home. And while Cathy had health insurance through a part-time job with Jet Blue airlines, she had a $400,000 maximum on her coverage, so is in a skilled nursing facility until she can be approved for “at home” nursing care through Medicare.

“Our goal for the garage sale is to get some cash to keep them in food and shelter until this is all sorted out,” Spellman said. Garage sale day also  happens to be Cathy’s 53rd birthday, “so we are hoping to make it a happy one for her,” he added.

People have generously donated many wonderful items for the sale, including expensive furniture, paintings and brand new toys, he said, and the John L. Scott Office has had to bring in storage pods to hold the many donations until Saturday.

Spellman encourages everyone to come to the sale on Saturday. Cathy’s family has also set up a fundraising site through the NTAF Northwest Spinal Cord Injury Fund. Cash donations can be made online, by phone or by mail. Go to https://www.ntaf.org, enter ‘Cathy Steiner’ in the “find a patient” fields & click on “Contribute Now” or call 800-642-8399 for details.

For more information about the sale, contact Sandi Davis at 425-308-5285 or email sandi@sandidavis.com

  1. My heart goes out to Cathy and her family. We never know what twists in life will bring us. Some we can change and some we just have to work with and do the best we can. Be strong Cathy and family. You are all on a new path that’s not easy, but will bring you closer together.

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