Wishes
Fulfilled:Wishes
Fulfilled:
Bob Haverstick writes about a couple of the wishes NTL was able to make happen in November 2003:
98-Year Old Woman Reunited With 65-Year Old Son
Pauline K. hadn't seen her son, Stan, since July 2002, when he was moved from a bankrupt nursing home in Indianapolis to a facility in Rockville, IN. Before that move took place, Pauline and Stan saw each other once a week.
This is one of those beautiful, connect-the-dots type wishes. PK Beville, founder of Second Wind Dreams (largest elder wish making organization in the country), was to be the keynote speaker at the annual Alzheimer's Conference in Indy. PK asked if Never Too Late could find a person with early stages Alzheimer's who would be willing to have a wish fulfilled in front of 400-500 people at the conference.
We called nursing homes all around Indy and finally came upon a super wish. Mary Jane Allen at Westpark Healthcare knew that Pauline was missing her son terribly. We contacted the social services director at the Rockville nursing home and told him of the wish; he agreed to accompany Stan on the day of the reunion.
We then contacted John Brewer, owner of Airport Executive Car Service, and he agreed to provide transportation for the whole day for only $600.00. Second Wind Dreams paid $200; NTL paid $200; and elder law firm, Severns and Bennett paid $200. John had to leave Indy at 5:00AM in the morning to pick up Stan in Rockville to get him back to the east side of Indy by 8:15AM.
Shadeland Flowers donated a dozen long stem roses for Stan to give to his mother. An hourly worker at Westpark purchased a new rosary for Stan to give to his Mom. After the tearful reunion at the conference, Stan and his Mother attended a special mass given in honor of Pauline's husband who died in February of 2000. Then nine people dined for free at the Brickyard Crossing Motel. Afterwards, Pauline and Stan hugged; Pauline went back to Westpark and Stan went back to Rockville…for the time being.
The real blessing in this wish is that Severns and Bennett elder law firm has taken on the challenge (pro bono) to find a facility in Indy to take in Stan so that he and Pauline can see each other on a regular basis-no more long waits for mother and son to be together!
The reason PK wanted to unveil this wish in front of 400+ people at the Alzheimer's Conference was to challenge/encourage the attendees to go back to their respective long term care facilities and do likewise. Wouldn't it be an incredible ripple effect if every facility represented at that conference were to initiate their very own wish-making program for all of their residents! Talk about touching lives in a magical way!
Eighty-Eight Year Old Golf Fan Wants An Autographed Something From Tiger
Sometimes wishes come to NTL; other times, we seek and find the wishes. Such is the case with 88-year old Elizabeth Knapp. I recently read about this remarkable woman who is pretty much homebound (except for the doctor and beautician), but who continues to work two jobs from her recliner at her home. I contacted the Noblesville Ledger reporter and she connected me with Elizabeth's son, who called his Mom to see if she had a wish NTL could fulfill.
Elizabeth called me and unabashedly said, "I want an autographed golf ball from Tiger Woods", her favorite golfer of all time. I found that IMG manages Tiger, so I called a friend of NTL, Mr. Darrell "Flash" Gordon, who used to work for IMG. Darrell gave me a name to call. Came to find out that Tiger doesn't autograph golf balls (at least not through IMG), but she agreed to send a signed, framed photo of Tiger for Elizabeth. The picture arrived with a signed, personal note from Tiger, which NTL matted and framed for a mere $25.22.
The day we delivered the two Tiger items to Elizabeth, her son, daughter-in-law, her daughter, granddaughter, the next-door neighbor, and the Ledger reporter were there. When we unveiled the photo and the signed note, Elizabeth shed a few happy tears. She said these items weren't being left to anyone in her will; that they were to be buried with her. The reporter took a photo of Elizabeth kissing Tiger's picture. What a fun wish!