Peachtree City woman eases life for wounded soldier

Her son, Army Lt. Dan Berschinski, had been severely injured just days earlier when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. She was waiting to hear where he’d be taken for treatment.

When Chastine read Susan Berschinski’s regular e-mail update about 4 a.m., she couldn’t imagine anything more agonizing. She was determined to help in any way she could, even though she only casually knew the anxious mother.

“I was going to do everything I could to make sure she wasn’t in this by herself,” the 50-year-old Chastine recalled.

Chastine decided she would collect flight passes and frequent flier miles so the Berschinskis could travel back and forth to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. — where Dan was being treated — without worrying about the cost.

She also created a blog, suggesting people send the Berschinkis well wishes. She had barely begun when offers of help and cash started to flow in. She added Pay Pal to the blog and set up a bank account to collect donations.

Those efforts, she figures, have raised more than $50,000, so far, to help the family defray health care and other costs.

Chastine said she knew there were a slew of people who would want to know how Dan was doing. He had grown up in Peachtree City, graduated from McIntosh High School there and earned his Eagle Scout badge there.

In the IED incident, the 25-year-old first lieutenant — a member of the Second Platoon of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment — had sustained multiple injuries, including a fractured jaw and pelvis. Both his arms had been broken, and both his legs were gone.

“Rainy immediately understood that Daniel being injured was not just a concern for our family and small circle of friends,” said Susan Berschinski. “She realized the community ... would be very concerned. She saw the big picture.”

Chastine, a mother herself, said she was simply responding to a God-inspired nudge.

But not even Chastine — who now owns the successful Images by Rainy Photography — anticipated such a “whirlwind of support.”

“We would be going crazy without her,” said Susan Berschinski.

“She’s a good businesswoman with a huge heart.”