- M
When my dad, Frank Rieckmann, came to school to read to my students for Read-in Week, it was beautiful. Beautiful… and confronting.
Not only was it the first time that my dad had been into my classroom (as I had been living overseas throughout my teaching career), it also could be the last Read-in that he would be here for.
He read “Miss Twiggly’s Tree,” by Dorothea Warren Fox, a book that teaches- No matter what, YOU HELP ALL YOU CAN. Be the positive force in the world that you want to see. Change perspectives by living authentically for the good of all. Stay positive.
No other message could have been so fitting.
You see, my dad, Frank, is a pretty incredible guy. He lives his life to the tune of ‘PMA- Every Day.’ Positive Mental Attitude- Every Day. He is the type of person whose smile and laugh (that rolling laugh!) brightens a room. He can talk to anyone and he DOES talk to everyone. And when he is talking to you, you feel like you are important, because his attention is yours and you feel that connection. He is the guy who would give you the coat off his back and his last dollar if you needed it.
He and his wife Judy have made friends everywhere they go. People fall in love with their energy from the very first moment. They have touched people’s lives in so many ways. It has been profound not just for the people they touch but for Frank and Judy as well.
Frank is adored by everyone, especially his family.
It hasn’t been an EASY road, yet this overarching theme of life-loving, positivity-spreading, giving has never faltered.
Even when his heart got sick...
Even when his heart got sick again…
Even after 4 heart attacks almost took him away from us.
My Dad carried on being who he is, after the stints, after the heart attack which led to bypass surgery in March of 2009. At that time, he was told do not have another heart attack. It may not end well. When in March of 2016, weeks before my Dad and Judy were to have their first grandson, Dad had a major M.I. He was down for 20 minutes at the airport, complete heart failure. He only survived thanks to the four Canada Custom Agents who brought him back using an AED and the incredible care he received afterward.
All that leaving his heart inoperable.
Prior to this My Dad and Judy were always involved in the local community, volunteering where they could. They also worked on raising funds to furnish a children’s play area in a home designed for Mothers with addiction, offering a safe environment for the children.
Traveling to El Salvador to build a hard surface soccer/basketball field in a mountain village called Jauyau.
And returning yet again to build a security wall to protect the children and enclose a classroom at the school in a fishing village called El Espino.
This past June, Dad had what he thought was another heart attack. He thought this one was The One, he was shocked to hear the doctors say it was not a heart attack. This was, what they believed to be, a blood disease, his Platelets were more than 4 times what is considered normal.
After a long wait, these past few months, they have confirmed that my dad, Frank, has:
-Essential Thrombocytosis (ET), which is caused by his bone marrow creating too many platelets and a secondary disease called Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), rarely seen together. Our family is now facing the big C word. The scariest thing is generally neither of these blood cancers are considered fatal on original diagnosis, complications of MDS are fatal and complicated further with My Dads heart disease. The heart will not likely survive the necessary treatments.
Chemotherapy has now started.
The time he has left is unknown, so, in true Frank fashion, he plans to live it to the fullest.
FRANK WOULD LOVE TO:
1 Walk into the Arctic Ocean... Check
2 Helicopter into a remote cabin, spend week with the bears... Check
3 Take more time for family... Ongoing
And the big one:
4 Go out with a bang of love and positivity by giving back and returning to El Espino, El Salvador in January of 2020
We need YOUR HELP!
To finish what he started and return Frank Rieckmann to the school and assist the children with upgrading into a positive learning environment:
Goals:
-Enclosing another classroom (protecting the children from the elements)
-Creating a proper play area
-Upgrading their waste system (presently outhouses) to a sustainable, affordable sewage system
-Brightening up the school with lighting and paint
-Bringing the children down some Canadian gear
His goal is to raise $50,000 to make this dream happen. Because (as he says with a huge smile and twinkle in his eye) he ‘selfishly’ feels his best when he sees other people happy.
All funds raised by your donations will go directly to the project, flights and a rental car, while in El Espino. No salaries are being paid. All help is volunteer based. Accommodations for the Project have been generously donated by Alberta Lock Solid Edmonton.
Please share what you can, and even if you can’t, please share this post to spread the word because Frank Rieckmann is really living it- the TRUE meaning of life:
Living a life of love, sharing the gifts that you have and making a positive difference, every day.
Not only was it the first time that my dad had been into my classroom (as I had been living overseas throughout my teaching career), it also could be the last Read-in that he would be here for.
He read “Miss Twiggly’s Tree,” by Dorothea Warren Fox, a book that teaches- No matter what, YOU HELP ALL YOU CAN. Be the positive force in the world that you want to see. Change perspectives by living authentically for the good of all. Stay positive.
No other message could have been so fitting.
You see, my dad, Frank, is a pretty incredible guy. He lives his life to the tune of ‘PMA- Every Day.’ Positive Mental Attitude- Every Day. He is the type of person whose smile and laugh (that rolling laugh!) brightens a room. He can talk to anyone and he DOES talk to everyone. And when he is talking to you, you feel like you are important, because his attention is yours and you feel that connection. He is the guy who would give you the coat off his back and his last dollar if you needed it.
He and his wife Judy have made friends everywhere they go. People fall in love with their energy from the very first moment. They have touched people’s lives in so many ways. It has been profound not just for the people they touch but for Frank and Judy as well.
Frank is adored by everyone, especially his family.
It hasn’t been an EASY road, yet this overarching theme of life-loving, positivity-spreading, giving has never faltered.
Even when his heart got sick...
Even when his heart got sick again…
Even after 4 heart attacks almost took him away from us.
My Dad carried on being who he is, after the stints, after the heart attack which led to bypass surgery in March of 2009. At that time, he was told do not have another heart attack. It may not end well. When in March of 2016, weeks before my Dad and Judy were to have their first grandson, Dad had a major M.I. He was down for 20 minutes at the airport, complete heart failure. He only survived thanks to the four Canada Custom Agents who brought him back using an AED and the incredible care he received afterward.
All that leaving his heart inoperable.
Prior to this My Dad and Judy were always involved in the local community, volunteering where they could. They also worked on raising funds to furnish a children’s play area in a home designed for Mothers with addiction, offering a safe environment for the children.
Traveling to El Salvador to build a hard surface soccer/basketball field in a mountain village called Jauyau.
And returning yet again to build a security wall to protect the children and enclose a classroom at the school in a fishing village called El Espino.
This past June, Dad had what he thought was another heart attack. He thought this one was The One, he was shocked to hear the doctors say it was not a heart attack. This was, what they believed to be, a blood disease, his Platelets were more than 4 times what is considered normal.
After a long wait, these past few months, they have confirmed that my dad, Frank, has:
-Essential Thrombocytosis (ET), which is caused by his bone marrow creating too many platelets and a secondary disease called Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), rarely seen together. Our family is now facing the big C word. The scariest thing is generally neither of these blood cancers are considered fatal on original diagnosis, complications of MDS are fatal and complicated further with My Dads heart disease. The heart will not likely survive the necessary treatments.
Chemotherapy has now started.
The time he has left is unknown, so, in true Frank fashion, he plans to live it to the fullest.
FRANK WOULD LOVE TO:
1 Walk into the Arctic Ocean... Check
2 Helicopter into a remote cabin, spend week with the bears... Check
3 Take more time for family... Ongoing
And the big one:
4 Go out with a bang of love and positivity by giving back and returning to El Espino, El Salvador in January of 2020
We need YOUR HELP!
To finish what he started and return Frank Rieckmann to the school and assist the children with upgrading into a positive learning environment:
Goals:
-Enclosing another classroom (protecting the children from the elements)
-Creating a proper play area
-Upgrading their waste system (presently outhouses) to a sustainable, affordable sewage system
-Brightening up the school with lighting and paint
-Bringing the children down some Canadian gear
His goal is to raise $50,000 to make this dream happen. Because (as he says with a huge smile and twinkle in his eye) he ‘selfishly’ feels his best when he sees other people happy.
All funds raised by your donations will go directly to the project, flights and a rental car, while in El Espino. No salaries are being paid. All help is volunteer based. Accommodations for the Project have been generously donated by Alberta Lock Solid Edmonton.
Please share what you can, and even if you can’t, please share this post to spread the word because Frank Rieckmann is really living it- the TRUE meaning of life:
Living a life of love, sharing the gifts that you have and making a positive difference, every day.