An off-duty police officer who responded to the Santa Fe High School shooting discovered his mother was one of the victims. 
 
 Cynthia and William Tisdale 
 
 Cynthia Tisdale was one of two substitute teachers killed by a gunman while teaching first period art class Friday. Eight students also died. 
 
 League City Police Department Detective Recie Tisdale, Cynthia’s oldest son, said a friend called him about the shooting so he rushed to the scene. 
 
 Thankfully, his daughter has late arrival on Fridays so she was still at home. 
 
 Photos: The victims of Santa Fe High School shooting 
 
 Photos: Victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting 01 / 31 01 / 31 
 
 When Tisdale arrived, he was told two teachers had been killed. Soon after, he learned his mother was one of them. 
 
 He had to identify his mother's body and break the news to his father and the rest of the family. 
 
 “It was very hard to go from assisting others to being horribly affected by this tragic event,” Recie said in a statement Monday. “There are no words to explain how saddened my family is for everyone involved. Our prayers and thoughts are with everyone affected.” 
 
 Photos: Memorial grows at Santa Fe High School 
 
 Photos: Memorial grows for victims at Santa Fe High School A strong message of unity sits at the base of the Santa Fe High School memorial. It shows just how much this community is coming together to heal following this tragedy. 01 / 22 A strong message of unity sits at the base of the Santa Fe High School memorial. It shows just how much this community is coming together to heal following this tragedy. 01 / 22 
 
 Recie said his parents had been married for 46 years and had three children and 11 grandchildren. 
 
 His father, William Tisdale, has a life-threatening illness so his mother spent much of her time caring for him. 
 
 “Since my brother has been very ill the last couple of years, she was a very excellent caregiver and she worked two jobs for extra income to help,” Brother-in-law John Tisdale told The Monitor newspaper. “She worked at the school and a second job as a server at night at an Italian restaurant chain." 
 
 After her death, donations on a GoFundMe.com page set up by the family quickly soared. 
 
 Recie Tisdale wrote a touching and poignant letter to his mother: 
 
 "To all on behalf of William Recie Tisdale, Sr. and Cynthia Tisdale, 
 
 "My name is Recie Tisdale, Jr. and I am the eldest son of Cynthia. I am writing this to honor the life and memory of my mother. Where do I start? My mom would have been 64 next week. She married my father at 17 years of age and they have been married 46 years. I have two siblings Joseph and Autumn Tisdale. She also has a step-daughter, Shannon McCoy and 11 grandchildren. Cynthia made a point to stay at home most of our childhood to raise us while my father worked and ministered at a Baptist church. As we got older, my mother decided to enter the job market.She worked different jobs throughout her life until my father started his own business. A few years ago, my father became ill and has recently required full-time assistance so my mother also filled that role. She has cared for my father every day of their lives not to mention keeping up with a bunch of grandchildren. During the past year she even found time to attend physical therapy most weeks with my eldest daughter following a terrible accident. Her support, love and encouragement are part of the reason my daughter is walking again. 
 
 "This year Cynthia enjoyed helping others so much she decided to go to work as a substitute teacher at Santa Fe High School working with special needs kids. 
 
 "My youngest attends high school there and my wife Jennifer also works for Santa Fe ISD. As a result, the community of Santa Fe is a large part of our lives. 
 
 "(Cynthia) worked there not out of necessity but for the love of teaching and helping others. To know my mom was to know a person who lived to help those in need. We loved our mother very much. Grammie you will be missed. 
 
 "The day of this senseless event my mother left for work in the morning. My family and I live 10 minutes from the school. I was off-duty on that Friday. My friend and co-worker notified me of a school shooting because my child attends school there. 
 
 "Because it was Friday, my daughter had late arrival and thankfully was still home. She often met with her grandmother in the morning. Being a police detective, I immediately gathered my gear and responded to the school to help those in need. Upon my arrival I was met by several of my League City Police brethren. We all assisted the best that we could along with all the other brave men and women. 
 
 "The shooting had just been neutralized prior to my arrival. Once the scene was somewhat secure, I was contacted by my father who could not reach my mom. I knew that two female teachers had been killed along with several students. Not long thereafter I determined that one of the teachers was probably my mother. It was very hard to go from assisting others to being horribly affected by this tragic event. There are no words to explain how saddened my entire family is for everyone involved. Our prayers and thoughts are with everyone affected." 
 
 Cynthia Tisdale's funeral is Friday, the day she would have turned 64. 
 
 The Santa Fe tragedy also hit home for Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset. 
 
 His granddaughter was in the school, three doors down from where the shooting started. She was able to escape but her best friend was killed. 
 
 "This tragedy in this community touches home more than you'd imagine," Trochesset said. 
 
 © 2018 KHOU ||||| WT Medical Dickinson, TX William Tisdale 
 
 My dad has a fatal lung disease called IPF (idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis). The end stage symptoms are chest pain, depression, reduced lung function, disturbed sleep patterns, and becoming housebound. “Pulmonary Fibrosis is a disease marked by scarring in the lungs. Tissue deep in the lungs become thick, stiff and scarred. The scarring is called fibrosis. As the lung tissue becomes scarred it interferes with a persons ability to breathe.” Survival for most patients is less than 5 years. The lung doctor told us in December my dad has 12-18 months left which is also the time he denied my dad a lung transplant. My dad has wrote to me this on March 25th 2018 “I lost all hope when denied lung transplant now with the possibility of lung stem cell treatment I have been able to find some more hope again. My life right now is nothing more than being connected and dependent on a 50 ft hose for oxygen. Luckily I have you to make sure I get out every day and help me get in and out of home and vehicle to keep me with something to push forward for. I’ve never had to ask for help and I’m embarrassed to do so now. With the procedure I have a chance for more time with your momma (my wife of 47 years), my children, and my wonderful grandchildren who I so much want to see grow up as much as possible. I fear without this I won’t make it to see 2019. There are times breathing is almost impossible and to feel like I’m choking is very scary and a feeling I do longly pray to not keep feeling. I pray this will work even just a slight bit would be so much worth it for me. I love you. Dad.” Please help my dad with this last ounce of hope not only him but our family has for him right now. We know our time is precious and limited and to see him suffer is the worst and hardest thing to endure but even more so on him. Thank you all in advance for any prayers and help you are able to give. Please share with everyone you know the sooner he can get this stem cell treatment the better as each day is not promised. ||||| (CNN) Cynthia Tisdale spent the last years of her life working two jobs to help pay for the medical expenses of her husband, who suffers from a life-threatening lung disease. 
 
 Now it appears the death of the beloved substitute teacher in the Santa Fe High School shooting may lead to him getting the medical treatment that could save his life. 
 
 Tisdale's husband, William, suffers from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis , a life-threatening disease that causes scarring in the lungs. It leads to breathing difficulties and a shortage of oxygen in the brain and other organs. And sufferers can only expect a life expectancy of up to five years after diagnosis. 
 
 His family set up a GoFundMe page in late March to raise the money for a stem cell treatment. Funds came in slowly at first but soared over the weekend as people learned more about Tisdale and her devotion to her husband. 
 
 By Monday morning, the campaign had already exceeded its $30,000 goal -- enough to pay for the stem cell treatment and possibly (with a second opinion) get a lung transplant. 
 
 "We are still in such disbelief that anything good can come out of such a horrific event," the family said. "My mom always made good come out of bad situations though and this is no different for her." 
 
 Giving her husband a second chance at life 
 
 Tisdale was considered something of a saint by her family and friends in Pharr, Texas. The mother of four children was described as kind and generous by those who went to church with her at Anchor Bible Baptist Church in Pharr. 
 
 But her greatest act of kindness and love was toward her husband, William. 
 
 She worked as a substitute teacher during the day and as server at a local restaurant at night to help pay for his medical expenses, her brother-in-law John told The Monitor newspaper. 
 
 "Since my brother has been very ill the last couple of years, she was a very excellent caregiver and she worked two jobs for extra income to help," the brother-in-law said. "She worked at the school and a second job as a server at night at an Italian restaurant chain." 
 
 Tisdale's husband was diagnosed with the disease back in December and was told he had at most about a year and half to live. His doctor told him he wasn't a good candidate for a lung transplant, Tisdale's family said, so lung stem cell treatment may be his only shot at prolonging his life. 
 
 And with the money that's coming in to the GoFundMe page , that's now a possibility. 
 
 "We don't know how to put it all into words but thank you doesn't give it enough justification. We (reached) the goal for funeral costs, bills, and possible lung transplant with second (doctor) that we never thought was an option," the family wrote. 
 
 Her son, a detective, ID'd her body 
 
 Tisdale was one of 10 people killed when a gunman, armed with a shotgun and a .38-caliber handgun, opened fire at Santa Fe High School soon after classes started on Friday morning. 
 
 It was Tisdale's own son, a detective who responded to the shooting scene, who had to identify her body and notify other family members of her death, The Monitor reported. 
 
 The shooting suspect, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, was arrested and charged with capital murder and aggravated assault on a public servant. 
 
 Her family said William Tisdale is devastated by the loss of his wife yet cognizant of the fact that even in death, she is still helping him. 
 
 "It was hard for him to fight before and now losing my mom has made it unbearable," the family wrote on the GoFundMe page, "but every little notification on his phone gives him a chance at something." ||||| What is idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)? 
 
 Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a type of lung disease that results in scarring (fibrosis) of the lungs for an unknown reason. Over time, the scarring gets worse and it becomes hard to take in a deep breath and the lungs cannot take in enough oxygen. 
 
 IPF is a form of interstitial lung disease, primarily involving the interstitium (the tissue and space around the air sacs of the lungs), and not directly affecting the airways or blood vessels. There are many other kinds of interstitial lung disease that can also cause inflammation and/or fibrosis, and these are treated differently. It is important to work with your doctor to determine if you have IPF or another form of interstitial lung disease. 
 
 Next steps:
– One of the victims in the Santa Fe school shooting was Cynthia Tisdale, a 63-year-old substitute teacher who WFMY reports was killed Friday while teaching a first-period art class. But while family and friends mourn her death in this "terrible act of violence," BuzzFeed notes a glimmer of hope amid the tragedy. Tisdale's job at Santa Fe High School was just one of two she held down to help her family get by, as her husband, William Recie Tisdale, is homebound with an incurable lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In December, William Tisdale was given just 12 to 18 months to live and was denied a lung transplant, so his family set up a GoFundMe page in March to help raise funds for a stem cell treatment, with an original goal of $30,000. Funds slowly trickled in—but Cynthia Tisdale's death changed the pace. After the story of her death and her husband's plight started to circulate, money started pouring in; the page has since raised more than $100,000, which the family says will be used for funeral costs, the stem cell treatment, and even maybe a lung transplant from a different doctor, an option the family is now able to consider. CNN notes William Tisdale is "devastated" at his wife's murder, but the kindness of strangers and their financial support have raised his spirits. "We are still in such disbelief that anything good can come out of such a horrific event," one of Cynthia Tisdale's children writes on the GoFundMe page. "My mom always made good come out of bad situations though and this is no different for her." Cynthia Tisdale's brother wrote on Facebook, via BuzzFeed: "I am sure Cynthia is rejoicing in heaven knowing her death may save her husband of 47 years."