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7 selections of fresh vegetables
6 selections of
fresh fruits
7 varieties of
frozen meats
5 bags of
non-perishables
1 bag of paper
products and personal care items
Gifts from a Secret Pal
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The
unfortunate reality of life is that tragedy can strike at any time, to
anyone. Sudden events in our lives can change the way we have to live, or
the choices we are able to make. Many of us go through our lives without
ever having to experience tragedy on a large scale, thankfully. For others,
however, there’s no escaping from their hard reality. For many of the
seniors in our Senior Citizen Project, unforseen events have put them into
dire circumstances. One who comes to mind is Wanda, your Secret Pal. Despite
the fact that she is one of the youngest we serve in our Senior Citizen
Project, she has endured pain in her life which no one should have to go
through. We are so thankful to you, Kathy, for your help in brightening
Wanda’s life. We would like to take this time to share some information
about Wanda so you may get to know her better.
Wanda says that she has
“lived in so many states it’s unbelievable.” Her family traveled around a
lot when she was young. She doesn’t like to talk about her youth much,
however, because her family was extremely dysfunctional. She hasn’t seen her
father since she was a teenager. As she grew older she hoped life would turn
around for her. She was a volunteer with the USO in her 20's and that’s how
she met her husband. He was in the Navy, and was stationed at the Great
Lakes base. The couple was happy and had 2 boys, but life took another
drastic turn for Wanda. In 1982 she was in a serious car accident that
rendered her almost totally paralyzed. As if that wasn’t enough, her husband
left her in 1995 leaving her totally alone. Wanda’s life had sunk very low.
She spent a great deal of
time in the hospital. On top of her spinal cord injury, she suffers from
asthma, and has had to have kidney surgery. Her medical expenses regularly
run her $100-200 a month, and with her rent of $257, there’s barely anything
left of her $872 a month income to cover the basic costs of life. Perhaps
saddest of all is that Wanda has no idea where her two sons are. She says
they moved away after she and their father divorced, and she rarely hears
from them. She would love to get into contact with them, but has no idea how
to track them down.
Despite all of this,
Wanda tries to look on the bright side of life. She has several friends in
her building who she enjoys chatting with. She is also happy to report that
she has managed to stay out of the hospital for over a year, which is quite
an accomplishment for her! She spends much of her day reading mystery novels
or watching movies. She loves to receive her food delivery from HSP each
month, saying “I haven’t had to go to the store in ages!” It is especially
helpful to her, not just because of the money it saves her, but because she
can only leave her apartment with great difficulty because of her condition.
While it is hard to understand how someone so warm and wonderful as Wanda
can be forced to have endured so much, we are happy to be a force for good
in her life. With your help, Kathy, we can continue to give Wanda reasons to
be optimistic!
Things to Remember about Wanda:
• Wanda’s birthday is April 12, 1949
• She loves to drink coffee.
• Her income is $872 a month.
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