Friends of Tony Update
This page was last updated on May 20
In preparation for his release from St. Jude's on May 25, Tony had a brief reprieve from his stay at the hospital this past week. A small team from St. Jude's temporarily brought Tony home so that he could take a trial run in his power wheelchair and maneuver it through the new apartment. This gave everyone a chance to test out the recently constructed ramps and other built-in accommodations before Tony's much-anticipated homecoming takes place in just a few days.
We're pleased to report that that everything worked out fine and that the new apartment passed all of the important access tests. Although it was unfurnished at the time, Tony was very happy to see his new place that he will soon be calling home. A huge thank you to the management at Country Woods for making sure that everything worked without a hitch this past week, and for the special assistance that you continue to provide to Tony and Mary Alice.
Get your cards and letters out this weekend and let's fill up Tony's new mailbox at the new apartment. Wouldn't it be great if everyone who receives this message could send something to Tony and Mary Alice by Wednesday's homecoming! The new address is:
Tony Albanese
315 N. Associated Road
Apartment #1303
Brea, CA 92821
Thanks to the recruiting efforts of people like Stephanie Stiles and Fred Murkle and the many parishioners at Yorba Linda Friends Church, a group of volunteer movers has been assembled for Sunday afternoon (May 22). With the sudden heat wave coming and college finals looming in the background, both Stephanie and Fred were up for the challenge. According to Stephanie though, there was never going to be a problem finding a small group of movers and a truck (or two) for Sunday's move. She simply "thanks God" for helping out.
The move into the new apartment is scheduled to start around 12:30 pm, following church services. Moving such items as light furniture and a few dozen boxes is expected to take a couple of hours. As mentioned in an earlier update, Tony's mom and dad will be there as well to oversee the move, and they will be ordering out for pizza and other refreshments for the volunteers. Rain check on the "home cooked" Italian food that was previously mentioned, it will simply be too hot and too messy to prepare anything in the new kitchen.
A report in from Teresa Barrett-Bewley at UCI. Last year Teresa worked with Tony's dear friend Linda Hayden on the hugely successful UCI Medical Center blood drive. Saddened to hear of Linda's passing last month, Teresa attributed the (ongoing) success of the blood drive to Linda's remarkable efforts. Teresa says that they still get people who come in from time to time to donate blood at UCI in Tony's name. She also reports, "some people who were never blood donors before have now become regulars. They continue to save lives in our community." That is a remarkable story and an inspiration for a new feature that will soon be added to the website. There are so many friends of Tony who we've come to know for the wonderful things that they have done and continue to do to help Tony or his cause. You will learn more about these special people like Linda Hayden with each update.
Tony continues to welcome visitors while at St. Jude's, so please come by and see him if you have a chance while he's still there. His appetite has really picked by the way, thanks to everyone on Tony's meals on wheels plan (mostly his dad!). A few more names have been added to the friends page and email update list, there are no other transitions to report at this time.
May 2005
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thur | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
June 2005
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thur | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
|
May 22
May 23 Monday, Take Action Today! Let Your Voice Be Heard Write your members of congress and ask them to vote YES on H.R. 810, The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act on Tuesday, May 24th. May 24 Tuesday, Stem Cell Vote States Vote on Stem Cell Research The House of Representatives votes on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. May 25 Wednesday, 1 pm Tony's Homecoming! Released from the hospital. |
June 3 - 5 Friday - Monday Abilities Expo At the Anaheim Convention Center |
