Cfcshr.org

Combined Federal Campaign of South Hampton Roads
PERSONAL STORIES
Selection by Health Charities

American Cancer Society
Story 1
Mr. Brown
As a 52 year old African-American who was diagnosed with lung cancer in April 2005, Mr. Brown received
chemotherapy treatment once a week. Despite his failing health, Mr. Brown continued to work his low income
job & take care of his brother in their apartment. Mr. Brown needed help. Through the American Cancer
Society's Patient Resource Navigation Program, Mr. Brown was given financial assistance, gas cards to help
with transportation to & from treatments & a free respite room at the Hope Lodge after chemotherapy
treatments.

Story 2
In the spring of 2000 I received the three words you never want to hear. "You have cancer!" at that very
moment your world stands still and your emotions become a roller coaster. Where to turn, who to turn to? At
this point in stepped the American Cancer Society with a program "Reach to Recovery". Women who are
cancer survivors, specially trained to help me with what was ahead and most importantly offering me HOPE.
Now I offer the same hope and Help that was offered me as a volunteer.
American Heart Association
Today Taylor is an active 11 year old, his journey since birth has been far from normal. It was a very quick
delivery which helped saved his life. He had pediatricians standing by in the room and within minutes he was
being run (literally) to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. He coded (stopped breathing on his own) on the way.
It was a normal pregnancy. We had no forewarning. It was after 10pm the day of Taylor’s birth before two
Pediatric Cardiologists came in to tell us that Taylor had Pulmonary Artesia with an Intact Septum, Hypo plastic
Right Ventricle as well as an ASD and would require almost immediate surgery. It was a mouthful and we had
a lot to learn in a short amount of time.
Taylor was kept alive by medicines and machines until he could have open heart surgery number 1 at age: 6
days. Open heart number 2 was at day 13. Open heart surgery number 3 was before he was ten months old.
Each one more emotionally draining than the next as his bright emerging personality became such a strong part
of our family’s pulse.
Taylor has been in the cath lab at least five times since his surgeries and has had two procedures while he was in
the labs. He currently has a bi-directional Glenn Shunt and a gortex outflow patch in place of a pulmonary
valve. People who meet him for the first time can’t tell ay difference between him and his friends. He runs
tussles and hangs with the best of them. The only restriction he’s ever had is absolutely no football. He loves to
be active. He lives, eats and breathes baseball. He’s a miracle that needed just a little help from the AHA.

Beach Health Clinic
Story 1
―John‖ is an employed 36yr old male who first visited the Beach Health Clinic on September 2008. He is
uninsured and came to the clinic seeking help with a seizure disorder. The Tegretol XR medication that he
takes for his seizures is too expensive for him to afford but without it he puts his life in danger. After
appointments with both an internal medicine physician and a neurologist at the clinic, his prescription was filled
by our onsite pharmacy enabling John to be seizure free. Tegretol XR is donated by Novartis through Rx
Partnership with means that there is very short waiting period to get his prescription filled.

Story 2
―Harold‖ has been a patient at the Beach Health Clinic for several years. He presented himself with severe
epilepsy and was immediately placed on medication to help manage his seizures. At that time, the only way we
could get his medication was through the patient assistance program. It takes 4-6 weeks to receive medication
from the pharmaceutical company through the patient assistance program. Because of the long wait, ―Harold‖
suffered from gaps in his treatment. He visited the emergency room several times when he ran out of
medication to control his seizures. With the new pharmacy program, ―Harold‖ is able to receive his
medication at the clinic. The prescription is filled within a week, so that he is not without medication. Along
with epilepsy, ―Harold‖ also suffers from high cholesterol. He is currently taking three different medications to
help with this medical problem. ―Harold‖ can pick up his medications from the clinic for a reasonable price so
that he may place his earnings toward other expenses during these hard economic times. The pharmacy
program has helped this patient and others maintain treatment plans in order to better manage their chronic
conditions.
WHRO
We recently spoke with the niece of one of our listeners (80 years old), just to check in to see if her aunt was
enjoying the receiver we sent out in 2009. Her niece said that she was loving being able to get the news and had
rediscovered the joy of some things, because she finally could participate again. Her aunt regularly calls her to
discuss something she ―just heard,‖ and is really excited to keep up with current events.
Meal on Wheels of Chesapeake
Recently, Anita Kilabrew, one of our board members who is the associate pastor of a local Chesapeake church
delivered a meal to an elderly lady named Betty who had just arrived home after throat surgery.
Betty told Anita that Meals on Wheels of Chesapeake was such a much needed blessing to her by not only
providing meals to her during her recovery but also the fact that someone is checking on her daily. Betty has a
local grown child but it was a blessing for Betty's family that MOW of Chesapeake could provide services for
Betty when her grown child had to work and was not able to check on her.

St Mary’s Home for the Disabled Children
Go, Kishaun, Go! Kishaun really loves to move.
Once seated on an adaptive tricycle, 10-year-old Kishaun zooms up and down the corridors of St. Mary’s Home
for Disabled Children so quickly that his therapists sometimes have trouble keeping up with him.
Like most of the children and young adults who live at St. Mary’s Home, Kishaun uses a wheelchair. He also
can walk, with assistance, for short distances. Pedaling on the tricycle helps him walk by warming up his legs
and strengthening the muscles in his legs and core – all while he’s having a blast. ―Kishaun just wants his
independence,‖ said physical therapist assistant Lynn Regna. ―The trike is a way for him to just go.‖
Kishaun is one of about 15 children at St. Mary’s who now regularly ride a tricycle as part of their physical
therapy. The seats and handle bars are easy to configure to give each child a comfortable ride. While the child
grips the handle bars and pedals, a therapist uses controls on the back to steer. Through the generosity of
supporters, the Auxiliary Board of St. Mary’s Home for Disabled Children was able to donate funds for the
Home to buy two of these tricycles.
St. Mary’s Home has been providing a loving and caring environment for Virginia’s most vulnerable children
for 65 years. During World War II, St. Mary’s opened as a home for young children with no homes of their own
or who needed a temporary place to stay while their mothers were at work at war plants. The Home’s mission
evolved over the years. At St. Mary’s Home, we provide unique, complex, around-the-clock-care within a
homelike environment for special children with severe disabilities, so each child can achieve his or her
fullest potential.
About 90 children and young adults—ages newborn to 21—from all across Virginia live, play and go to school
at St. Mary’s. The Home is the only pediatric long-term-care residential facility of its size and scope in the state
for children and young adults with severe disabilities, and one of only about 100 such facilities nationwide.
Children come to St. Mary’s as a result of birth disorders, traumatic accidents, illness and child abuse.
Staff provide medical, therapeutic and recreational services, and SMHDC partners with Southeastern
Cooperative Educational Programs to provide individualized education programs. Medicaid, United Way
donations, CFC donations and other funding such as grants and donations cover the cost of this care, and
military families can get assistance through the U.S. Armed Forces’ Exceptional Family Member Program.

Source: http://www.cfcshr.org/files/CFCSHR%20Personal%20Stories_Health.pdf