Save Garreth's Medical Van and Home
Donation protected
Please take the time to read in full;
This is my step brother Gareth Hernandez, my mother Ann Marie Hernandez and my step sister Katrina Hernandez.
Eight days ago I started to write this and could not find the words that I felt would express the situation beyond heartache I was feeling as I initially began to write. I believe now its ready to share and I can only hope the words will make the impact I am hoping for.
My mother and Gareth’s father adopted Gareth in Europe some twenty years ago. He’s quadriplegic, blind, has hydrocephalus, can barely regulate his body temperature in addition to going through more procedures than any of us can imagine. To say he is medically fragile would be somewhat of understatement. As cliché as it may sound, he has lived this way more often or not with a smile and even a laugh now and again, never really showing anything other than the gratitude of the love that has surrounded this past twenty years.
Gareth was born medically fragile. Leading the doctors tell my mother and Gareth’s father not to get too attached because he would not survive long. Gareth was less than year old then. He has since gone on to enjoy life as only he can, understanding the obstacles he and my mother faced together this past 20 years. He even had a pretty cute date for prom and graduated school! He’s beaten odds I couldn’t even imagine facing or how I would face them if the odds suddenly befell me. The two of them are simply the best example I can think of as an example of what the power love can do for the human spirit, loving and being loved.
Now we are here…and though there is a part of me that would like to go into the details of how we got here, I can only feel the details would take away from the truer sense of the mission to ensure we can help in taking care of my brothers needs and keep him out of harm’s way, ensuring his medical safety and security.
This past year Gareth’s home has been dealt some unfortunate financial blows. These blows have challenged the ability to keep the home that has been altered specifically for his care, over his head. Now the same unforeseen financial threat is challenging the potential loss of the lifeline that is his medically adapted van. The van is the final necessity that keeps Gareth medically safe, ensuring he can be safely transported to the number of appointments necessary to maintain his fragile medical condition. More importantly, the van is vital in allowing his mother the ability getting him through a two hour drive to Johns Hopkins Hospital in the case of severe emergency. Without the van and the ongoing challenge to the financial status of his home, Gareth could end up in a state run facility away from the home he knows, the love of his mom that helped them both through the past twenty years and more importantly the truest dedication and understanding to meet his medical needs, certainly impacting his long term mental and physcal health.
I have done all I have been able to in trying to keep my extended family safe from the ongoing financial threats. Neighbors have stepped forward to help keep the lights on and an angel from the church stepped in to save the home temporarily. The realization is I cannot do this alone.
I am hoping for the hearts and friendships of many to help me in keeping their home safe and more importantly keeping Gareth out of the harm’s way. I can think of no other way to get the help Gareth’s home back in order in the timeline afforded, as well as save the much needed van, other than to turn to kindness of others. Gareth has made an irrevocable impact in many lives that he has touched. It is now my hope that we can team up to impact his life the way he has impacted so many.
I have been extremely fortunate in my life to have been touched by so many, in various circumstances, to include my very own son, however I can say without reservation, there is absolutely no one that has ever entered my life that is more deserving of the outpouring of love that I believe Gareth deserves. I believe strongly, though he cannot vocalize it, no one would be more appreciative than he and his mom (my hero) to be safe at home with one another.
Thank you for opening your hearts and minds to help me in helping them in this very dyer of situations.
Dean Riggott
"Sometimes the smallest things,
Take up the most room in ones heart"
'Winnie the Pooh'
This is my step brother Gareth Hernandez, my mother Ann Marie Hernandez and my step sister Katrina Hernandez.
Eight days ago I started to write this and could not find the words that I felt would express the situation beyond heartache I was feeling as I initially began to write. I believe now its ready to share and I can only hope the words will make the impact I am hoping for.
My mother and Gareth’s father adopted Gareth in Europe some twenty years ago. He’s quadriplegic, blind, has hydrocephalus, can barely regulate his body temperature in addition to going through more procedures than any of us can imagine. To say he is medically fragile would be somewhat of understatement. As cliché as it may sound, he has lived this way more often or not with a smile and even a laugh now and again, never really showing anything other than the gratitude of the love that has surrounded this past twenty years.
Gareth was born medically fragile. Leading the doctors tell my mother and Gareth’s father not to get too attached because he would not survive long. Gareth was less than year old then. He has since gone on to enjoy life as only he can, understanding the obstacles he and my mother faced together this past 20 years. He even had a pretty cute date for prom and graduated school! He’s beaten odds I couldn’t even imagine facing or how I would face them if the odds suddenly befell me. The two of them are simply the best example I can think of as an example of what the power love can do for the human spirit, loving and being loved.
Now we are here…and though there is a part of me that would like to go into the details of how we got here, I can only feel the details would take away from the truer sense of the mission to ensure we can help in taking care of my brothers needs and keep him out of harm’s way, ensuring his medical safety and security.
This past year Gareth’s home has been dealt some unfortunate financial blows. These blows have challenged the ability to keep the home that has been altered specifically for his care, over his head. Now the same unforeseen financial threat is challenging the potential loss of the lifeline that is his medically adapted van. The van is the final necessity that keeps Gareth medically safe, ensuring he can be safely transported to the number of appointments necessary to maintain his fragile medical condition. More importantly, the van is vital in allowing his mother the ability getting him through a two hour drive to Johns Hopkins Hospital in the case of severe emergency. Without the van and the ongoing challenge to the financial status of his home, Gareth could end up in a state run facility away from the home he knows, the love of his mom that helped them both through the past twenty years and more importantly the truest dedication and understanding to meet his medical needs, certainly impacting his long term mental and physcal health.
I have done all I have been able to in trying to keep my extended family safe from the ongoing financial threats. Neighbors have stepped forward to help keep the lights on and an angel from the church stepped in to save the home temporarily. The realization is I cannot do this alone.
I am hoping for the hearts and friendships of many to help me in keeping their home safe and more importantly keeping Gareth out of the harm’s way. I can think of no other way to get the help Gareth’s home back in order in the timeline afforded, as well as save the much needed van, other than to turn to kindness of others. Gareth has made an irrevocable impact in many lives that he has touched. It is now my hope that we can team up to impact his life the way he has impacted so many.
I have been extremely fortunate in my life to have been touched by so many, in various circumstances, to include my very own son, however I can say without reservation, there is absolutely no one that has ever entered my life that is more deserving of the outpouring of love that I believe Gareth deserves. I believe strongly, though he cannot vocalize it, no one would be more appreciative than he and his mom (my hero) to be safe at home with one another.
Thank you for opening your hearts and minds to help me in helping them in this very dyer of situations.
Dean Riggott
"Sometimes the smallest things,
Take up the most room in ones heart"
'Winnie the Pooh'
Organizer
Dean Riggott
Organizer
Chula Vista, CA