REACHING OUT AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Dear Friends, Family and Coworkers,
As many of you know, the Lazo family recently endured a life changing event. Sara, Maddie, and Norma’s father suffered a stroke on September 4th. To say the least, this has been very traumatic and heartbreaking to see their father in this condition. The girls have been at their father’s bedside continuously, while still trying to juggle work and other such daily obligations. As one can assume, the road to rehabilitation for stroke patients is quite long.
On behalf of the Lazo family, I am reaching out to you all and requesting your support at this time. There are numerous ways we can all come together and help alleviate the stress this loving family is going through. The following are suggestions of ways we can show our concern and love for the family: providing a meal, sending flowers, helping with housekeeping duties either personally or sending a service, entertaining the kids, running errands, and more.
If you can give in any of these ways please get in touch with me as soon as possible. I am compiling a list, which I will take and spread out your generosities over the course of the next few months. My email address is attached. Your contribution no matter how big or small is deeply appreciated!
As always you can send cards with your prayers and well wishes to:
The Lazo Family
c/o Sara Lazo
1442 Hollywood Ave
Bronx, NY 10461

In addition I have set up a blog for the Lazo Family. You will be able to follow their dad’s progress as well as frustrations Sara, Maddie, and Norma have experienced throughout this entire ordeal. Given the many frustrations that have been relayed to me regarding medical insurance, and what they do not cover it was imperative that we set up a bank account for their father. It will help provide for any uninsured medical care and treatments he WILL need in the future. With your generous donations their father will be able to receive extra rehabilitation that will help him have a better chance for recovery. The donation link is provided for you on the blog. Your help is MOST appreciated and will no doubt give their father the best quality of life. May God Bless You All!


Sincerely,
Tammy Garcia (friend of the family)
txtam101@yahoo.com

The Gift Everybody Needs..

If you have a few minutes to spare please take the time to read this. The message is wonderful, amazing and there is so much truth behind it!

http://http://www.joelosteen.com/HopeForToday/ThoughtsOn/Relationships/TheGiftEverybodyNeeds/Pages/TheGiftEverybodyNeeds.aspx

Frustrating times lately!

The first portion of this is taken from various text and emails the girls have sent me (Tammy) since the last update. I have come to a few conclusions and one of them is that, YES there definitely needs to be changes made in the way insurance is approved or denied and in a more timely manner.

The girls said as of today that: my dad remains at the stroke unit because insurance still hasn't approved his return to rehab!! After they messed up by taking my dad out due to not reading the MRI correctly, they won't even attempt to help us!! We have been given a horrible treatment by the stroke unit! We have been treated with no dignity or respect fyi this is the medical center of the rehab place.. So my dad now is risking getting an infection because he's on a floor full of sick people.. I hate that hospital!!

It has been a complete nightmare to say the least! A more detailed story from the beginning of their dad going the hospital until now will come in time, which began September 4th. Imagine dealing with this for that long! As you read above there was a setback so the girls went through the emotions they felt as though the nightmare was beginning all over again. I feel sympathy and want to help take away their sadness and frustration even just for a minute.. Isn't that what we should all do for one another in times like these? YES, it is!

I give the girls alot of praise for rearranging their ever so busy lives and being with their Dad, day in and day out, in making sure he is properly taken care of, in being his advocate for getting him to the right rehab, etc. He should be very proud that he raised such genuine and caring daughters, and when he can speak I am sure he will express that.. Great job Sara, Maddie, and Norma! I know this has to be very tough on you all but you will all get through this and just be amazed at the amount of strength each of you have. I am completely amazed! I love you guys!

I wanted to add this video that I came across.. You know we all get caught up in chaos of life from time to time. This has surely surely slowed them down for a bit.. But with the help of friends/family and most important the power of prayer and turning over our troubles to GOD, he will help us through those weak times..

If I never knew you..

I came across this song recently and wow! It took on soo many different emotions! For me I thought of alot of important people in my life. To think if I have never met these people where would I be? I felt love all around for everyone that is important to me. LOVE to me is one of the foundations for life! Thought I would share this song here because I am forever grateful to Norma's dad for sending her to Virginia to live. She only lasted in the "suburbs" s very short time, but we developed a long lasting friendship and I have really treasured being around her and her sisters through all these years. This has been a very trying time for this family. I just love them all and hope the best for their DAD! XOXOXO

Update

Sara.. Friday October 9th
I took the entire week off from work to stay with my dad at the rehab center. He is making progress little by little, they downsize his trachea, and as of today he is no longer on oxygen, YEAH!!! Physical therapy is going well I believe by next week we shall see substantial improvement

Maddie...Saturday October 19th
I am getting ready to go see my dad and do some therapy with him. Yesterday, Efrain was able to order via internet the ECUADOR vs URUGUAY soccer game. This game has long been awaited. My dad lives for soccer. I remember on Sept 4th, hours before his stroke he said how excited he was to be leaving the hospital so he can watch the soccer matches to qualify for the 2010 world cup. Unfortunately, that night he never made it out of the hospital. So it was very rewarding for me to see that he was able to enjoy the match yesterday to a certain extent...

We can move mountains..

Read this great article in the newspaper Parade section today. It's titled We Can Move Mountains by Matt Damon. The message comes at a great time! Here is a piece of the article.. "I can't think of any more important value to instill in our children than the desire to help others. I feel strongly about setting an example for them. Real problems can be solved by the next generation if we instill in them the right values. I'm not a politician, and I don't want to tell anybody how to live, but I must say, all these years later, I still think Gandhi had the right idea: No matter how small the contribution we make may seem, it's crucial that we all do our part. Please find out what you can do to make a difference. Take five minutes to educate yourself on an issue you didn't know about before. Then tell somebody else. Or make a small donation, if you can. Every dollar counts. Charitable foundations would rather have a million people donate $1 each than have a handful of people write big checks, because that means millions of us are getting involved. If you give $5 and talk to your neighbor about giving $5, that's a big deal. If that conversation goes on across the country, we'll really start moving some mountains. We're here for such a short time. When your great-great-grandkids study history, don't you want them to be proud that you were part of the solution?"

FAMILY and FAITH can help you get through the tough times!

I wanted to share an inspiring blog that I have been following. Stephanie Nielson and her husband were in a very serious plane crash August 8, 2008. Her husband was burned over 30percent of his body, Stephanie was burned over 80 percent. She was in a coma for three months.. During this time her family took turns being at her bedside and eventually she came home, to a new home that is, near her family in Utah. Her story made national news... I wanted to share this message today because the Nielson's were on Oprah today. Oh my goodness, the two of them, especially Stephanie have come soo far since the crash. Yes, they say times were very tough accepting the fact that this is their new life. A viewer who had written to Oprah, went inside the Nielson's home to see what life was like. Emotional to watch to say the least, you know the little things we take for granted. There is a family photo taken before the crash, all of them with such a natural beauty. The viewer had a tough time looking at the before picture. Stephanie pointed out that, yes physically she looks different from the before photo but pointed out that she still has everyone with her- their love and support.. I took away from the show and everytime I read the blog that with FAITH and FAMILY anything is possible!

I have included her blog link if you want to go back and read from the beginning. Be sure to have some tissues handy!! I encourage you to read it when you have time because it is very awe inspiring, how life can change so quickly, but with faith and family you will get through those tough times..

God is answering prayers!

God is answering prayers!
(From Sara Friday October 2, 2009)
Well I have good news. He has been medically cleared and my dad is going to rehab either today or Monday.
We are now just waiting on insurance to approve a possible facility today, but they are giving us such a hard time if they do not approve our first choice then he will have to go to our second choice but then that will take place on Monday......


That being said we need to get moving in helping to raise funds to get Dad the best possible rehab and any future assistance he might need. I have faith that family and friends will come together in this time of need. Stay strong!

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10