Mpls Riots Paralyze 22yr Veteran

UPDATED NOV 9th
::: First and Foremost we would like to thank everyone who helped contribute to Launette’s go fund me for getting her power wheelchair,  special chair installed for transportation and some of the Home modifications.  Without everyone’s help and contributions this would not of been possible. Now we are onto the next phase of needing donations.

We are starting over with our fundraising efforts, as all funds have been exhausted. 

On November 12th,  Launette  will have a major surgery and it will be at the UofM.  This is a serious surgery and one where she will take anywhere from 5 to 9 days in recovery prior to her being released to come home.
Not sure she wants the details of this sensitive nature surgery broadcasted quite yet,  so at this time I will not. 

After this surgery we will need to get a Standing Wheel Chair ASAP. This will allow Launette to be put into a standing position.   This has numerous physical benefits as well as emotional benefits.

This Standing Chair allows for the circulation necessary which helps thwart future amputations and serious pressure sores.  It also promotes keeping a paraplegic’s bones strong. 

We are discovering that Launette is in the first,  early stages of Pressure Sore on her tailbone.  This is serious.  It is very serious.  This is from not standing.  It is from long term sitting.   If this evolves  into a full blown pressure sore, she can hospitalized for ten months or more. 

So please if you can, let’s help get our well loved Veteran this Standing wheel chair she needs!
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My Wife is a Casualty of the Minneapolis Riots

My wife, Launette Figliuzzi is a casualty of the Minneapolis riots of 2020. She became a parapalegic (paralyzed from the chest down) on May 29-30, which occurred on the 3rd consecutive night of the Minneapolis riots.

This is our story:
It was about 11:30 PM on May 29th 2020.
My wife Launette couldn't sleep, so she went downstairs to get a snack. While she was cutting up an apple, she felt the most INTENSE neurological pain in her back that she has ever had. She called for me & I called for an ambulance. They promptly came, loaded her up and closed the door. The ambulance took her to the nearest hospital which is in Princeton, about 10 miles from our home. I followed the ambulance in my truck. I waited in the parking lot as I was not permitted to accompany my wife into the hospital due to COVID. I didn't know that night that I would not hold my wife's hand for the next 3 months.

About an hour later, I received a call from the doctor explaining that she believed my wife may have suffered a spinal stroke. The doctor informed me that time was crucial & they were taking steps to call forva medical helicopter and airlift her to a hospital that was best equipped to handle this rare kind of stroke. A while later, the doctor called me again to tell me that the medical helicopters have been grounded due to the heavy air traffic as a result of the uncontrolled riots. They informed me that they would then be transporting her by ground; however a huge obstacle still existed. All of the major highways had been closed down due to the riots. This caused the ambulance to be rerouted down many different side streets, causing further delays in her care. By the time my wife arrived at the hospital, her paralysis had moved up to her waist...and shortly thereafter, up to her chest. After multiple MRI's, a diagnosis of a spinal stroke was confirmed. However, by then it was too late for my wife to receive a drug that is used to break up blood clots & can halt & reverse the damage caused by strokes.

That night as she lay there terrified & all alone; seeing only masked faces, she couldn't have imagined that she would become permanently paralyzed from the chest down; and that her life would become so irrepperably altered.

Fortunately, Launette was later transferred to the Mpls VA which has a top rated Spinal Cord Injury center. She is still an inpatient there, receiving excellent care & undergoing extensive therapy.

As the months pass by, I can't help but be frustrated & angry that my wife; a 22 year Army Retiree, was denied access to timely medical care that would have been instrumental in keeping her paralysis from setting in, had she been allowed the use of the Air Ambulance on May 30th.

I wholeheartedly believe that the mayhem & violence that was allowed to go unchecked for 3 whole days, by our state & local officials directly impacted my wife's access to the critical care she so desperately needed that night. As a result, she is permanently paralyzed from her chest down to her toes. Launette is such a positive person, but it does bother her when she hears commentary coming from the state & city leadership proclaiming that "the damage is only bricks and mortar…” Launette pleads “Governor, I am not bricks and mortar, I’m a real live human being who is now paralyzed for the rest of my life."
Sadly, In the media, Launette has remained a silent casualty... collateral damage in a war that should have never been.

If anyone deserves help, it is Launette. She served 22 years in the US Army & retired and achieved the rank of Master Sergeant (E-8). She then served another 15 years as the County Veterans Service Officer in Sherburne and Wright County MN, and in Cass County North Dakota. She has helped thousands of veterans, to obtain their earned benefits; and now ironically she is needing the help.

So now, my wife, who is a mom/bonus mom to 5 kids and grandmother to 13 grandchildren, is having to relearn & rebuild most of her life.

There are some people that have inquired as to why we need a fundraiser, when we utilize the VA. That is a legitimate question. Unfortunately there is a false impression that the VA provides everything a veteran needs when they are discharged to home. Although, the VA provides basic imobility, ramps & safety devices, most veterans bear the financial burden for home adaptions, vehicles & specialized equipment . Of course there are exceptions, but we do not fall within those parameters. We have been urged by so many to set up a Go-Fund-Me account. It has been such a hard decision for us to come to, as we both come from backgrounds that we don't ask or impose on people. But we find ourselves, needing to overcome a huge financial burden that neither of us could have ever imagined.

One large expense that we are asking for help with is to fund a specialized wheelchair. This wheelchair has the ability to not only transport but it can help her with therapy. It actually raises her into a standing position, so as she can get more full circulation throughout her & for weight bearing on her limbs, to prevent osteoporosis. This is a very costly wheelchair and is well out of our ability to acquire on our own. Secondly, we would use any extra monies raised for home adaptations, so that we may remain in the home that we love.

If you are able to donate any amount of money towards these items, we would be eternally grateful. Thank you so very much for your interest in our story, your prayers & involvement.
Sincerely,

Tom & Launette Figliuzzi

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