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October 21, 2008

If you have reached this page, you probably know the story.  In case you don’t, we will capsulize here by letting you know that Britt Leis and Lia Koehn were taking the trip of a lifetime, traveling through South America.  In Playa Las Manchas, Ecuador, they were brutally attacked and Britt was stabbed at least 18 times while Lia was assaulted.  This happened in the middle of the day, in broad daylight, on a beach in an area which was not considered dangerous.  In what I can only describe as a heroic act of selflessness, Lia went for help and was able to get Britt to a medical facility in Esmeraldas.  Three days later, Lia was able to have him transported to Quito, Ecuador, where he had three surgeries and complications from infection that kept him in intensive care.  Britt’s Mom and Stepdad flew to Quito, Ecuador and soon Britt and Lia were evacuated to Miami, FL and finally to Loma Linda Medical Center in California, where his sister is a doctor on staff.

This site is to assist Britt and Lia for medical expenses which will be astronomical by the time they recover.  And they will recover.  Do what you can, every donation to this cause will be so appreciated by Britt and Lia.

Below there are some pictures which we have of Britt, we invite everyone to send love and thoughts and prayers and energy.  Special thanks to Carlos Perez, who got this website up and running, and Shawn and Aaron Leis, Britt’s stepmom and brother, who hooked it up to the Britt Leis Medical Assistance Fund at Bank of America.  Also big thanks to Brian Seales who is auctioning off donated merchandise at www.brittleisfund.com.  Those of you interested in donating an auction item or purchasing one to help with this mission, please visit this site.

All of us back at Bend Euro Moto, where Britt worked, are stunned.  Britt is one of the most mellow, neutral, savvy people on earth.  Lia is smart, loving, strong, and adventurous.  We know them well enough to know that they were not blindly wandering into danger, Lia speaks fluent Spanish and they researched this trip extensively.  There was no agenda, political or religious.  No mission of help or mercy.  Just two happy, healthy young people who wanted to explore the amazing South American countryside.  This was taken away from them by this act of inhumanity.  We can’t ever give this back, but what we can do is make the financial burden one less thing for them to deal with.

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