This summer, Dustin and Sofia Tannenhaus, an instructor at High Tech High in Liberty Station, were traveling abroad in Europe. The couple were celebrating precious milestones in their life: Dustin had earned a month-long sabbatical, and Sofia had just finished a successful year as a teacher at HTH.
Four weeks into their vacation, on Saturday, July 20, everything changed. Dustin dropped Sofia off at a local gym and went for a run near the water, just like any other day. When he finished his intense workout, he became ill. As it turned out, he was suffering from heat exhaustion from a heatwave that culminated in heat stroke.
With the help of locals Sofia met at the gym that morning, they rushed Dustin to the hospital. But by the time he reached the hospital, he had fallen into a coma, which ended in cardiac arrest, five days before his 34th birthday.
After returning from their tragic trip, Sofia discovered she was with child. While Sofia is excited, she never anticipated being a single mom, and raising a child on her teacher income will be extremely challenging.
A Go Fund Me drive has been set up for Sofia Tannenaus, https://www.gofundme.com/f/DustinTannenhaus, organized by Tin Lib. It has raised $54,815 from 220 donors toward a $60,000 goal for a funeral/memorial service for Dustin and to benefit Sofia.