Monday, October 10, 2005
Week 2 "Angel April" story from Denise Rickard
I had fully intended to write updates while there, but between long hours of work and only seeing a laptop one time (and someone else was sending their story), I didn't find the opportunity.
Here is more complete information about a previously mentioned situation:
I had an opportunity to work with a young woman, probably mid 20's, named April, who came in to receive aid for 28 families. It was told in a previous update that she had come in to get supplies for 28 people, but it was 28 families ranging in size from one person to 18 people!
April lived in a trailer, and knew these people from church. She told me that if she didn't work, she would just fall apart. So here she was, notebook in hand, collecting things for people who had no way to get out themselves and get provisions.
There were two diabetics among them who April had checked three days before. One of them had 2 test strips left and the other had 3. According to one of the nurses, that was very bad and without checking their sugar levels could possibly be dead. I know that sounds melodramatic, but that surely could have been the outcome. It is something we probably will never know.
Another woman in her group was an elderly, grossly obese woman who wore Depends. When April found her, she had been sitting in the same Depends diaper for five days. She had no plumbing and no supplies. Needless to say, that was one of the things provided by the generous donations that pour into Tammany Oaks Church every day.
There were three infants, many 2 and 3-year-olds, and every age in between. We were able to give her food, toiletries, cleaning products, blankets, books, toys, shoes, dishes and water. These things could in no way fit into her little 5-seat car, so they were packed into a large Penske truck and several men followed her to her trailer.
She had cleaned out one room already, and was planning to clean out another to try and fit some of the things inside. The men took her some wooden pallets to stack things outside, and tarps to cover them.
The reason she didn't want the things delivered to each home was that there was not enough room to stack the boxes, so her plan was to drive the things to each family, or group of families (one home had 3 families living together, I think that was the 18-member family) so that they could actually use the stuff and still walk around.
This was an incredible undertaking for one person and one of the volunteers at Tammany Oaks called her "Angel April." Well, you would think that was a pretty exciting story, right? Well, April was wearing a large back brace over her clothing and when we were all finished loading her car and the Penske truck, I asked her why she had it on. She said she had been in an accident and was 100% disabled and was supposed to be in a wheel chair. She said she spends most of her time in bed. And here she was hauling heavy boxes and cases of water to 28 families.
And now you know the REST of the story!
Denise Rickard
Here is more complete information about a previously mentioned situation:
I had an opportunity to work with a young woman, probably mid 20's, named April, who came in to receive aid for 28 families. It was told in a previous update that she had come in to get supplies for 28 people, but it was 28 families ranging in size from one person to 18 people!
April lived in a trailer, and knew these people from church. She told me that if she didn't work, she would just fall apart. So here she was, notebook in hand, collecting things for people who had no way to get out themselves and get provisions.
There were two diabetics among them who April had checked three days before. One of them had 2 test strips left and the other had 3. According to one of the nurses, that was very bad and without checking their sugar levels could possibly be dead. I know that sounds melodramatic, but that surely could have been the outcome. It is something we probably will never know.
Another woman in her group was an elderly, grossly obese woman who wore Depends. When April found her, she had been sitting in the same Depends diaper for five days. She had no plumbing and no supplies. Needless to say, that was one of the things provided by the generous donations that pour into Tammany Oaks Church every day.
There were three infants, many 2 and 3-year-olds, and every age in between. We were able to give her food, toiletries, cleaning products, blankets, books, toys, shoes, dishes and water. These things could in no way fit into her little 5-seat car, so they were packed into a large Penske truck and several men followed her to her trailer.
She had cleaned out one room already, and was planning to clean out another to try and fit some of the things inside. The men took her some wooden pallets to stack things outside, and tarps to cover them.
The reason she didn't want the things delivered to each home was that there was not enough room to stack the boxes, so her plan was to drive the things to each family, or group of families (one home had 3 families living together, I think that was the 18-member family) so that they could actually use the stuff and still walk around.
This was an incredible undertaking for one person and one of the volunteers at Tammany Oaks called her "Angel April." Well, you would think that was a pretty exciting story, right? Well, April was wearing a large back brace over her clothing and when we were all finished loading her car and the Penske truck, I asked her why she had it on. She said she had been in an accident and was 100% disabled and was supposed to be in a wheel chair. She said she spends most of her time in bed. And here she was hauling heavy boxes and cases of water to 28 families.
And now you know the REST of the story!
Denise Rickard
# posted by John McGuire @ 9:31 AM 
