Thousands Raised For Boise Bar Manager Fighting COVID-19

If you're the type that enjoys getting into some nightlife fun, odds are you've been to Karma Nightclub on 8th & Idaho in downtown Boise. A town the size of Boise only has a few nightclubs, all offering something great in their own way. It's impossible to go out for a night and not hit them all as stops along the way of your fun, or...debauchery?

Chances are, if you've been to Karma, you've had an experience or at least seen Ryan Andrews running around, Karma's Managing Partner. Whether he's helping elevate your night out with a table, pouring your drinks, or dealing with the occasional creeper that needs to get the boot...Ryan has always been one of the friendly faces of downtown Boise.  From the start of working with this guy, I know I can personally say he's the guy that motivates a team--someone you want in your corner--and I have ALWAYS appreciated the way that he'll ask just about anyone if they're enjoying themselves. He wants to know that you're comfortable, having fun, and happy with what's going on. Leaders are listeners and Ryan is an example of that.

I was shocked to open up Facebook one day and see he had posted a photo of himself in the hospital...a victim of COVID-19. Everyone is reacting to this sickness differently and it isn't picking and choosing who it infects. Unfortunately for Ryan, having the virus for him meant spending some time in the hospital. It was weird to know someone who this actually happened to. You take your health for grated when something like the coronavirus doesn't impact anyone in your own life or social circle. Then, BAM-- someone you really appreciate is suddenly down and sick. As he wrote on Facebook upon announcing to his friends what he was up against:

Just in case it wasn’t personal enough for you, this is what COVID looks like.

I'm hooked up to an oxygen machine. I've had more medicine than I can possibly remember. I've been poked and prodded more than a lab rat. And if the blood draws aren't enough, the 2 shots a day in my stomach are a nice cherry on top. I'm weak and my joints don’t work. When I think I'm hungry, the nausea levels the playing field. I don't know which way is up or down. I can't smell anything. 8 days of the WORST fevers I’ve ever had, unquestionable thirst and it feels like my insides are burning to get out.

Since sharing the news, a member of his team spearheaded a GoFundMe to help Ryan out with the hospital costs and it's apparent that a LOT of people felt inclined to help out a dude that has time and time again been there for them.

Interested in reading Ryan's story and chipping in? Check out the link, HERE