I recieved this email and I wanted to share. I have visited soldiers at Landstuhl, Bethesda and Walter Reed. This email to me says a lot. Supporting ALL of our military personnel and families is so important.
If anyone is interested in visiting McQuire, please let me know. I will be there. We also have a dinner in Bethesda coming up also. They really appreciate having someone to talk to.
Thank you for your consideration and God bless all who serve.
Hi Deanna,
I am with the Armed Forces Foundation. I am our coordinator for dinners and
support to our wounded troops at McGuire Hospital in Richmond, VA. McGuire has
nearly twice the number of patients as Walter Reed.
As you know there are a large number of help organizations visiting the troops
at Walter Reed and Bethesda. Also, VIPs in town who go to those two hospitals
for treatment can drop by and look in on patients easily so patients in DC get
lots of visitors.
McGuire does not have that luxury, is a little more inconvenient for people to
visit and many of those men and women had never had a visit group show up to
thank them for their service.
One of the patients my wife, Monika, and I were following, Josh Hoffman, was
transferred from Bethesda to McGuire so we went there to see him, his mother and
Fiancé. As we walked through the hospital to get to the Spinal Cord Injury ward
we came across a WWII veteran sitting in his wheel chair. (His WWII hat gave him
away.) When Monika said 'hello' to him he became flustered and couldn't talk for
a few moments. We stopped. When he was able to speak he eventually told us he is
a survivor of the Battle of the Bulge ( bloodiest battle of WW II).
18 years ago he suffered a stroke that left him in a wheel chair and he has been
at McGuire ever since. We asked, and he told us his children live in Georgia
and Texas so he only gets about one or two visitors per year. We thanked him for
his service and chatted with him a little, then as we moved on towards the SCI
ward, Monika grabbed my arm and said "That isn't right! After all he has done
for us and the memories he is living with he deserves better."
We decided to try and set up parties every month at McGuire like the ones at
Bethesda and Walter Reed.
Monika and I went to the office and met the hospital director Mike Phaup. We
told him what we wanted to do and within an hour we met the entire management
staff of the McGuire hospital. They appreciated the interest and attention, and
were enthusiastic about supporting our plan. WE try to bring some entertainment
and have had a live band each month and we had Miss Sunburst International last
month who was just dynamite. She put smiles on people's faces all over that
hospital.
We serve a dinner, mingle with the wounded troops and their families and where
we find something they need that the system can not provide, we go about getting
it for them. Aside benefit has been the networking of the family members which
has given them a fresh strength to go on with the knowledge they are not alone
and can get through the crisis.
It is a very good thing we are doing. The drive to McGuire takes less time than
it does for me to drive to Walter Reed. Traffic snarls in DC are notorious. We
have not had any problems getting to McGuire
We have our next party scheduled for 20 July 9, 2007. If there is any way to get
you to come down there. Please let me know.
My wonderful hubby and I!
Lisa Zitello & I
Paul Sorchy, Christine and I.
