Here For Good: Family of stroke victim to receive holiday assistance
NEW COLUMBIA — Jo Lynn Francis turned to the Salvation Army for help this holiday season for the second year in a row.
Francis doesn’t work because she is taking care of her husband, Robert, who had a massive stroke and developed lock-in syndrome in 2018.
Also known as pseudocoma, the rare neurological disorder paralyzes all voluntary muscles except for the ones that control the movements of the eyes. Individuals with locked-in syndrome are conscious and awake, but have no ability to produce movements (outside of eye movement) or to speak (aphonia).
“The Salvation Army is a blessing. Honestly,” said Jo Lynn Francis. “We live on Social Security. That’s a heck of a thing when you’re 46.”
On July 20, 2018, Robert Francis, now age 54, was driving home on his motorcycle and started feeling strange. He stopped near the Bonanza in New Columbia and called for help, she said.
Francis now takes care of her husband full time with the help of a caretaker and aide and two of five children, ages 8 and 15, still living at home. He can lift his head, he can move his arms, and he can communicate with his eyes. Some people recover from the syndrome, but others do not, she said.
The COVID-19 pandemic is not the reason they went to the Salvation Army this year, but the novel coronavirus is the reason they haven’t been to the doctor since before March. He has an eye doctor appointment on Wednesday where she hopes to learn more about how he communicates, said Jo Lynn.
Jo Lynn said she likes to keep an upbeat attitude.
“I try,” she said. “Sometimes it’s easier than others. It’s my kids that really keep me going.”
The 2020 “Here. For Good” campaign is a continuation of the Needy Family Fund that has raised more than $3.06 million since 1987 during the holidays to assist the Valley’s less fortunate.
The campaign is administered by Salvation Army citadels in Milton and Sunbury and sponsored by The Daily Item, Sunbury Broadcasting Corp. and Mifflinburg Bank & Trust.
This year’s goal is $115,000 by the end of the year.
Donors can make checks payable to Here. For Good Campaign and mail or drop them off to any location of program co-sponsor Mifflinburg Bank & Trust.
Donors can also make any deposited donation or mail a check to 250 E. Chestnut St., Mifflinburg, Pa., 17844, or donate online at www.hereforgoodcampaign.org.
Original Source: DailyItems by Justin Strawser