Friends of Tony UpdateFall/Winter 2008This page was last updated on February 16, 2009 |
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Here's a brief list of those friends whom we thank for their special efforts over the past few months. Acknowledgements to Friends of Tony Striking Gold in Nevada There were many challenges ahead for Tony last year when he moved from California to Nevada. Perhaps the most important day-to-day challenge was not having a caregiver other than his parents. After about a week of getting settled in, Tony had a part-time caregiver come by for a couple of hours each day. 
This first caregiver was onboard six days a week through the middle of January this year when she abruptly quit for reasons still unclear. Shamefully, she left Tony and his family in a very difficult position until their prayers were answered nearly two weeks later. And that's when Kim arrived. Comfortable and confident in her skills, everyone knew they had struck gold, or more accurately stated, an eminently efficient and caring caregiver with a heart of gold.
Kim was considered as a possible caregiver when she first met Tony and his family during his settling in period, but things didn't work out for one reason or another. However, now that she's been taking care of him for nearly a year, Tony and his family wonder what they would do without her. Kim bathes and dresses Tony in the morning, and gets him out of bed and into his wheelchair. It's hard work taking care of Tony six days a week along with other patients, especially since she's also studying to be a certified nurse's assistant. Kim has even taken care of Tony on her day off! It's no wonder why she is considered to be "family" to the Albanese's. Having a great sense of humor hasn't hurt either, since Kim has the family's blessing to wash Tony's mouth out with soap when he acts up. Of course, Kim earns an hourly wage as a caregiver, but if you were to ask Tony and his family, she's worth her weight in gold. 'Net Friends Since the launch of "friendsoftony.com" nearly four years ago, there has been a steady stream of friends added to the friends page. The list of new names now includes people from all walks of life and from all over the world. In this latest update, for example, the names now include Kathleen Learned, Tony's cousin, and her husband Scott. Both visited Tony this past fall. Tony's caregiver, Kim Theus, was just added, as was Jeff Martin; an old friend who's recently reconnected with Tony after having lost touch for a few years. There's also Sue Rogers and Paul Blything, a British couple that Tony met on a weekend visit to the "Old West" themed community of Bonnie Springs back in September. And then there's Jessica Cox, someone who hasn't yet met Tony in person, but who's become a new friend based on their mutual interest in aviation and the challenges they've both had to overcome in their lives. 
According to Jessica's website, www.rightfooted.com, she is an internationally recognized inspirational speaker. Born without arms, Jessica now flies airplanes like the Ercoupe (as seen in the picture on the right), drives cars, and otherwise lives a normal life, using her feet as others use their hands. Just as a number of other friends have done over the past few years, Jessica added herself to Tony's website. She is a "'Net" friend. These are people who may have never met Tony in person, but feel a connection to him and want to be part of his social network. Often, Tony's "'Net" friends are members of his prayer group too. While social networks like Face Book have flourished on the Web, giving a whole new meaning to how people socialize these days, there's been a growing virtual prayer community as well. According to a recent New York Times article, prayer has found a home on the Web with such sites as "prayabout.com" and "ipraytoday.com." These sites have recently joined longstanding toll-free telephone services that allow anyone to request, for free, that strangers pray for them. The sites are not all Christian, but most share a belief that if more people pray for something, it has a better chance of happening. Tony's Prayer Circle 
Members of Tony's Prayer Circle come from a wide range of faiths and belief systems. Members who haven't met Tony in person yet, include, Dr. Robert Schuller, from Crystal Cathedral Ministries, the Balsama family, Maryann Mazzella, Joyce Durante, Suzy Olson, and Debbie Manning, RN, from North Carolina, among others. All share in their commitment to pray for Tony. In fact, Suzy Olson has made regular prayer vigils on Tony's behalf since the day of the accident. Prayer Circle members are sent expedited bulletins in email asking for help in prayer on any given day that Tony may need it most. Tony's family, especially his mother, Mary, has long been a believer in the power of prayer. We continue to ask for everyone's prayers to help keep Tony and his parents in good health and in good spirits. Tony is relying on his parents more than ever to provide round-the-clock care for him now that he's mainly being cared for by his family. Thank you for keeping Tony in your thoughts and hearts over these past four years. If you would like to be part of Tony's Prayer Circle, check out the prayer page for more details. Tony's Current Condition It was a proud moment for Tony when he passed his driver's test earlier this month. 
The smiling picture on his driver license says it all (as seen in the picture on the right).
In what amounted to a nearly one year effort, the license means that Tony can now drive his wheelchair van on his own — another step towards independence. Tony is currently contemplating his next set of goals for the New Year. One of his goals is to acquire his light sport pilot license. In order to accomplish this, he would need about two or three hours of flight review with his logbook and a sign-off from a qualified flight instructor, such as his friend and fellow pilot, Kris Larson. Previous Friends-of-Tony Updates You can read previous FriendsOfTony Updates by clicking on the links below.
More Friends of Tony A few more names have been added to the friends page and to the Friends-of-Tony Update email list. These new and old friends are:
Thank you, Steve Albanese FriendsOfTony.com Calendar |
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November 2008
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December 2008
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January 2009
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February 2009
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Click here
to read Tony's tribute to his friend, Jay Steel.
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Whether by Water, Wings or Wheels ... Life Is A Journey, Not A Destination. |
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