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Wife of furloughed Smokies park ranger creates GoFundMe, asks for help as East Tennessee family struggles with shutdown

She first shared their worries about the shutdown in a now viral tweet using #shutdownstories two days before Christmas.

Taylor Futch is worried for her family. She's afraid they won't be able to pay their bills if the federal shutdown continues, she wrote in both a tweet that went viral shortly before Christmas and again on Wednesday when she created a GoFundMe campaign. 

Why?

Because her husband, a Great Smoky Mountains National Park Ranger, has been furloughed since the shutdown began, she said in her GoFundMe description.

The GoFundMe campaign was marked as complete as of Friday, having raised $765. 

The shutdown has become tied for the longest in history as it entered its 21st day. Federal employees missed their first paycheck Friday.

RELATED: VERIFY: Here's a timeline of previous government shutdowns in the U.S.

"We have two beautiful girls, ages 4 months and 4 years," she wrote. "We have a mortgage, car payments, insurances, groceries, diapers, wipes, formula, gas, medications that we budget for every month. We have never asked for help, because we are responsible with our money. But we can only budget when money is coming in, and now we are holding our breath as we watch these clowns in DC use our family, as well as 800,000 others, as pawns."

My husband is a Park Ranger. He has, as of today, been furloughed for 19 days. We have two beautiful girls, ages 4 months and 4 years. We have a mortgage, car payments, insurances, groceries, diapers, wipes, formula, gas, medications that we budget for every month. We have never asked for help, b...

Donors had written best wishes and messages of encouragement on the page. 

"My husband just wants to go back to work to provide for our family, and protect the National Park he loves so dearly," she said. 

In her original tweet, she wrote her husband and herself were worried two days before Christmas how they would pay their mortgage when he first signed his furlough papers and weren't sure when his next check would come. 

Thousands replied to her tweet, with messages of encouragement as well as offers to help, including one from Ryan Leaf, an ex-NFL player. 

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