If you’ve ever walked through the entrance at the Costco on Linwood Boulevard in Kansas City, there’s a good chance Miss Debra greeted you.
Debra Reese, a door greeter, is widely loved. So much so that shoppers noticed she was absent for a period of time and wondered why.
"When you see her, it is like, ‘Hey baby how ya doing?’ And she gives you a hug and asks how it’s going today,” said customer Jewell “Jubie” St. Clair.
St. Clair learned last week Reese suffered a massive stroke on December 20.
She knew she had to do something to help. She started a GoFundMe page to raise money for Reese’s expenses.
In three days, people have donated more than $8,000.
Regina Byrd, Reese’s daughter, learned of the money on Friday.
"I'm just floored. This is beyond, I'm just forever grateful. I'm just almost speechless,” Byrd told 41 Action News.
Reese will be transferred to a rehabilitation facility in Denver, Colorado. Doctors aren’t sure if she’ll make a full recovery.
“She doesn't know the severity of her stroke, but she knows that she's ready to go back to work,” Byrd said of her mother.
Costco customers are ready to have Miss Debra back.
"It's about community and that's really what it comes down to,” St. Clair said. “And of everyone, she exemplifies what community is."
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Lexi Sutter can be reached at lexi.sutter@kshb.com.
