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Alpha Gamma Delta Sister Needs Help
Hey there my online sisters,
I know it's been quite a while since I've posted, and I'm sorry for that. Life's been interesting to say the least, but anyway, this came to my email box today, and I thought of what a loving and supportive circle this group has been...perhaps some of you could help?
Following Hurricane Katrina, I wrote to Nancy Mele, an Alpha Gam coordinating assistance for those sisters affected by the hurricanes. I received this email from her and wanted to share.
Hi ladies,
I have pasted below an email from an alumna in Oklahoma City. She is writing to ask for support for one of her pledge sisters who was affected by Hurricane Katrina. Y'all offered help, and now I am asking you to please consider this request to see what you might be able to do. I do realize that Ann Marie offered primary assistance to a chapter, but fortunately we have not heard of any considerable concentration of need in a chapter. There are individuals within chapters who have asked that their situations not be made too public, and for those there are funds set aside in our SIS Grants. SIS Grants have been awarded to collegians, but only under extreme circumstances--the devastation of the hurricanes is one of those circumstances. I have contacted the CA for each of the three chapters which were in the path of either Katrina or Rita, and have not received specific responses--I did want you to know I have tried!
If you are able and/or could encourage those sisters around you to help Laura, please contact Bridget. I have copied her on this email. She and I have emailed back and forth a couple of times and I know she would love to shower Laura with all kinds of help. A suggestion from me is gift cards to Wal-Mart, Target or Babies R Us--the Wal-Mart and Target cards can go for everything from household cleansers to specific baby items, and their prices are more reasonable (typically) on diapers and formula than at BRU. (I have three children, the youngest is 3, so I have been down that road!) Gift cards are also easy to send!
If I need to jump back in the middle, please don't hesitate to let me know. Otherwise, I'll let y'all and Bridget work out the details. So that we can get the details for an article in The Quarterly, please let me know a description of what you send--if you don't wish to include finite dollar amounts, that's ok. Just sisters helping sisters and a grand example...
Loyally,
Nancy Garrott Mele
Alpha Gamma Delta
Province 10 Director-Alumnae
Inspire the Woman, Impact the World
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HI, My name is Bridget Varner, and I am the Epsilon Nu's (University of Central Oklahoma) Vice President of our alumnae group, and I am wanting to take donations for a sister in need who lost a lot of there home in the Katrina hurricane, and who also is pregnant with a special needs baby and they have had numerous medical bills racking up for the past several months. She is having the baby on October 27th, and I was hoping to end the donations by then and to get to take them to her in the hospital what we raise for her. She is a wonderful person, and only deserves the best out of life, and for her to have this special needs baby that has to have brain surgery right after it is born, is just so heart breaking to me and many others. We want to do what we can, and I wanted to ask you about how Alpha Gamma Delta could match what we raised or what that was all about? Can you tell me more and what I need to do. Here is the email I am going to send out about Laura McKay Burke and little Clara Grace.
Thank you,
Bridget Varner
Many of you remember Laura McKay from our pledge class. Laura and her husband lived in Mississippi but evacuated a few weeks ago after Katrina before Rita. Laura & her husband headed to Oklahoma with some clothes & their 2 dogs when they found out they had $45,000 in damage & 3 trees in their house that needed to be removed & her house remodeled. On top of that, this is Laura's 3rd attempt to have a child. The EN Alum Chapter sent Laura a sympathy gift with the loss of her first pregnancy. She is very high risk and up until this week has been on bed rest with a feeding tube meeting HER nutritional needs, she has been VERY SICK... Her baby girl is due in late November but her doctor has planed to take Gracie in late October(27th). Baby Gracie has bilateral hydrocephalus and will need immediate intensive care upon arrival. The possibility is VERY great the baby will be taken by medi-vac to Texas for bilateral shunts in her brain to drain the fluid.
Your prayers are needed.
When Laura got to Oklahoma, she had to find a Doctor that would take her in her unique situation and with NO medical records since the hospital she was going to was in NEW ORLEANS (they had sent there because she was in such desperate need for unusual medical help). With the help of one of her AGD sisters, she is now being taken care of by a wonderful doctor at Mercy and she will deliver there. However, as of today, there is not a surgeon in OKLAHOMA that can take care of Gracie… there is a POSSIBILITY one is coming OCT 1st which would be an answered prayer.
This is a sister who really needs our help to rebuild her life and prepare for a baby in a short amount of time. Not only have the hurricane's destroyed her life but she is also trying hard to bring a "special needs legacy" into this world that is very sick, not to mention the surgeries Laura has had during her pregnancy ( her gallbladder taken out and a feeding tube into abdomen because she had lost over 70lbs at one point in this pregnancy). I told her she should write a book... “How to have a high risk baby while dodging 3 hurricanes with a feeding tube” –which buy the way has to be hooked up to electricity 18 hours out of a 24 hour day. It’s kind of hard when you DO NOT HAVE POWER!!! But let me tell you LAURA has been a trouper ALL the way!!!!!!!!!!! She is SOOOOOOOOOOO positive!!!!!!!! She is SOOOOOOO excited to be a MOM! Laura would never ask for help. But I do know that during all this she has lost her job because she was in the hospital so much and did not qualify for FMLA just yet. I also know that she will have to pay 40% of her medical bills because she is "out of network"
She needs our help!!
Laura & her husband will be living with her parents in Choctaw until things calm down. As sisters/ friends what can we do to help?
Please mail any money donations, gift cards, baby gifts, etc. to Bridget Varner ..................... If you have something and do not wish to mail it, please call Bridget at ........................ and make arrangements to drop off the gift.
I will deliver all the gifts to Laura in the hospital when the baby is here, and it will be a BIG surprise to her that we have done this for her. She would have never expected it, and would have told us not to do it, but us knowing the type of person Laura is she needs the help and support from sisters and friends all around. If you could include a card to Laura that would be great, so I can deliver that to her as well.
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I cut out Bridget's address and phone number from the email to help keep this somewhat private (let me know if I missed anything else that shouldn't be posted), but can pm or email the information to anyone interested in helping.
Let me know if you are interested.
Loyally,
Mai
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