Three Military Branches, A Dying Father, and One Determined Aunt
Would you know what to do if your brother was dying, all three of your nieces were in separate branches of the military, and you needed to get a message to them immediately? One local woman, Karen Lowe, found her answer in the Winona County Chapter of the American Red Cross. October 17, 2008 Marie Plaskett, Executive Director and trained military caseworker, received a phone call from a distraught woman saying her brother was dying and she needed help contacting his daughter who was at boot camp. Karen’s brother, Jeffrey Strelow, had been diagnosed with cancer and was given six months to live. Now, 2 1/2 years later his health was failing fast. What had started in his liver had now taken over his lungs, spinal cord, and brain. Jeffrey was given only a few days, maybe two weeks, to live. Karen wanted her nieces to be able to see him before he passed away but spread across the country and in three different branches of the Armed Forces that task seemed impossible. But like her dying brother, she was not about to settle for “it can’t be done”. Karen was prepared and ready for what seemed the inevitable. She contacted Gretchen’s recruiter to find out exactly who she needed to call, when she needed to call, and what type of information she would need to contact her in an emergency. Plaskett worked through the paperwork with Karen, verified the information with doctors, and then sent it up the chain to be passed on to her commander. Gretchen, the youngest, was in basic training for the navy, Nicole was stationed at Langeley Air Force Base in Virginia, and Ryan was pregnant and on leave from the Army after one tour in Iraq. Gretchen not only received the message in less than an hour from when Karen initially called, but was granted a three day leave from boot camp to visit her father. Gretchen called her dad the day she passed basic training and he simply said “I love you”, that was the last time he spoke. The story doesn’t end there. December 1, 2008 the chapter received another call from Karen, her brother passed away and she would like the girls notified of his death. Chris Humble, Emergency Services Director, once again walked through some of the paperwork with Karen. This time, however, Karen had the contact information of the First Master Sergeant who would need to approve Nicole coming home. With a phone call and a fax, Nicole was on her way. When Chris asked what Karen would have done if she had not known to contact Red Cross, she replied with a laugh, “I would have driven down there and gotten her myself.” Lowe went on, “I was impressed with how efficient and quick the Red Cross worked to get the communication to the girls. The Red Cross can go through the proper channels and the military is going to work with them more than they would work with an aunt. They believe and trust Red Cross.” Before he passed, Jeffrey decided he would donate his body to the U of M for cancer research, a gift to future generations. Thankfully all three girls, while spread across the country trade, were able to come together as a family for their father’s funeral. And that was the only acceptable answer for one determined aunt.
Deanda’s Family
Father
Juan
Mother
Virginia, 6 months pregnant
Children
Perla, age 6
Juan, age 3
Anelis, age 2
Imagine standing outside your home at 2:30 a.m. in the morning and watching it burn to the ground, while holding your three children in your arms. Unfortunately this isn’t a storyline for a movie, but it was reality for the Deanda family.
It was February 9, 2010 and the Deanda family was tucked into bed and fast asleep for the night. They lived in a two bedroom mobile home with three children. Around 2:30 a.m., Virginia was woken by a noise and immediately noticed the curtains were on fire. She rushed to wake her husband and children. Thankfully they were all able to get out of the mobile home without injury. However, they were scared and shaken. The neighbor children called 911 and they waited for emergency personnel to arrive. The Winona County Red Cross was paged; however, the family decided that because it was the middle of the night they wanted to go to a friends house for the night and would meet with a Winona County Red Cross caseworker in the morning.
The scene was heartbreaking the next day. They had lost absolutely everything in the home clothes, appliances, furniture, pictures, stuffed animals (including Juan’s stuffed lizard) everything, with no insurance. All they had was what they were wearing and an incredible sense that things would be okay, somehow.
We received a phone call from the family friend, Laticia, the next morning and set up a time to go meet with the family. The Deanda family speaks very little English so Laticia stepped in as an interpreter for the family while they worked with us. An offer was made, just in case Laticia couldn’t stay, that we could call one of our volunteers who speaks fluent Spanish, but she wanted to help her friends as much as she could. I believe it was a great relief to them to have a familiar face every step of the way. Christine Humble, Emergency Services Director, brought each member of the family a donated quilts/blanket ranging in size right down to a lap blanket for the youngest. She also brought comfort kits that were filled with toothpaste, toothbrush, comb/brush, washcloth, deodorant/razor (in adult kits), soap, body wash, shampoo, and some type of toy (in kids kits). We loaded one of the Client Assistance Cards (i.e. CAC) with financial assistance to purchase groceries, clothing, shoes, seasonal garments, portable crib, bedding, linens, and other necessities the family deemed necessary.
Chris brought the family to the resource center in St. Charles and they picked out an outfit and pajamas so they had clothes to change into, remember they were in their pajamas still. One of the most touching things that happened was while they were looking around, young Juan came running over with this incredible smile on his face and clutching a stuffed lizard. He slept with his every night and it was lost in the fire, now he found another one. Virginia, Juan, and Chris couldn’t help put shed a tear. And for the first time, Virginia took a little bit of a breath.
Juan’s employer very quickly offered a vacant mobile home that he had for the family to live in and they were going to go take a look at it right away. It was also a 2 bedroom mobile home. Decision was made to move to the new mobile home, however, it was completely empty besides a couch and loveseat. There weren’t any appliances or anything. So the chapter staff jumped into action to help the family locate potential items. There were a few furniture pieces that were found on Winona Shares for the children’s room including bed, linens, and a book case. A TV and VCR were donated to the family. Habitat Restore was able to donate a mattress. A table, chairs, and two beds were donated from the resource center in St. Charles. When the chapter found out that the little girl had lost her school supplies, they were able to connect with the school to find out what she was supposed to have and delivered the supplies to her the following day. The family was incredibly appreciative of what we were able to help them with and we were truly humbled by their “everything will work” attitude. The concern the parents held in their eyes and hearts the first few days turned into determination as they began to work through the first week. Each step they gained a little more energy and assurance.