article from Ohio: True friends, indeed, to fulfill a special need for MS sufferer

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True friends, indeed, to fulfill a special need for MS sufferer
Sat, February 4, 2012


By William K. Alcorn
***@****
Struthers, Ohio



In her mind and heart, Andrea DeGennaro is still running the bases for her high school softball team.

“We all loved softball,” the 1990 graduate of Struthers High said wistfully.

But her body, under attack from multiple sclerosis, has the former athlete virtually trapped in a tiny upstairs bedroom — upstairs because that is where the only bathroom is in the home where she lives with her mother, Judy (Mack) DeGennaro.

Andrea, 39, laughs and jokes with friends who visit, but these days it is sometimes through tears of frustration.

Diagnosed with MS on June 27, 1996, Andrea uses a wheelchair outside her home and is pretty much limited to her bedroom when inside because of the 13-step barrier between downstairs and her bedroom.

Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system that damages the protective insulation surrounding the nerves, a condition that can short-circuit nerve impulses carrying messages from the brain and spinal cord and cause reduced or lost bodily function, according to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of America website.

There are four general stages increasing in disability: relapsing-remitting, primary-progressive, secondary-progressive and progressive-relapsing.

It is the loss of independence, exacerbated by the loss of her ability to drive last June, that hurts the most, she said.

Her left knee doesn’t bend, and she cannot lift her legs high enough to get into her car without help.

“I can’t take myself to the pharmacy or the doctor or visit friends. I have to depend on someone else for everything,” Andrea said.

It is that all-important independence that a group of Andrea’s friends, also 1990 graduates of Struthers High School, is determined to give back to her.

They have started a campaign to raise $28,000 to build a 16-by-25-foot, ground-level addition to her home with a bedroom, bath and laundry.

“We would love to break ground this spring,” said Renee (Gavalier) Nye of Austintown, one of the group.

Others of the group include Melanie Agnone of Struthers, Tracy (Wickett) Beule of Boardman, Michelle (Hokanson) Ray of Poland and Holly (McLaughlin) Miller of Struthers. Renee, Melanie and Tracy were with Andrea during the interview for this story.

“When the room is complete, we’re going to have a sleepover like in the old days,” Renee said.

“We’ve been having girls’ nights out in Andrea’s room since she became home-bound,” Tracy said.

“Please don’t make me look pathetic. I’m not,” Andrea added. “But I don’t know how much longer I can do this without going crazy. It makes a big difference when company comes by.

“I even miss work ... just having conversations with other people. I miss doing the laundry,” she said with a rueful smile.

Andrea can go down the steps backward slowly by holding onto the rail with one hand and balancing herself with the other hand on a step. But if there were a fire or other emergency and she had to get out quickly, it could be life-threatening.

Though she can get down the steps, she can’t make it back up without help. “My legs give out and I have tumbled back down,” she said.

Further, she was hospitalized Christmas Day 2011 with bilateral embolisms, making the steps dangerous because she is using blood thinners and a fall could cause internal bleeding.

Andrea’s first MS symptoms were headaches and numbness in her hands and feet. Then one morning she awoke with pain in her left eye. She went to work but came home very sick, and her parents took her to the hospital. The next day, she rubbed her right eye and lost vision in her left eye.

“Our family doctor sent me to an eye doctor who did an exam. When he came back with results and asked if I had a family history of MS, I knew. I started crying,” Andrea said.

There is no past family history of MS, but two or her four siblings — an older sister and brother — also have MS.

A spinal tap and MRI confirmed the eye doctor’s preliminary diagnosis for Andrea. At the time she was in the relapsing-remitting stage; now she is in the progressive-relapsing stage.

After being diagnosed, she continued to work for a Boardman neurologist. But in 2007 she went on Social Security Disability Insurance and now is virtually stuck in her upstairs bedroom.

A ground-level room would make all the difference, Andrea said.

“To me, the more people who get involved in the project, the better. It’s for Andrea’s safety and peace of mind,” Melanie said.

Deno Frazzini, owner of Deno’s Construction, is donating most of the labor to build the addition, but donations of money and materials are needed and welcome.

“To be able to open the door and let the dog out ... to be able to move out of the house without help ... to be able to sit out on the patio on a nice day without mom having to worry about me ... to be downstairs and celebrate holidays with my family would be such a blessing,” Andrea said. “It would be life-altering.”


rnye(1 comment)posted 8 hours, 4 minutes ago

Anyone wanting to make a donation can make checks payable to: Christ Our Savior Parish...please note in memo line: Andrea DeGennaro Fund...mail to St. Nicholas Church, 764 Fifth St., Struthers, Ohio 44471.
Donations of supplies please contact Deno Frazzini @ 330-272-2884 before purchasing.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article and thank you for any help that you can give us.
Renee Nye


http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/feb/04/true-friends-indeed-to-fulfill-a-special/

[Lulu54]

You have always found some great reads, and this one goes in that category.  I love these feel good community rallying stories and what a difference this is going to make for her. There are too many people isolated in so many different ways thanks to diseases like MS.  

[heartfelt77]

Thanks for sharing this with us and should remind everyone how truly important it is to reach out and offer a helping hand whenever possible.

  Take care
    Misty