Accessability ramp and power wheelchair
Donation protected
Joe Emanuele, former Math Teacher at Central Catholic High, Manager of Jay’s Bookstall and Major League Baseball Scout for the Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves, suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke On Thanksgiving Day, 2010, so devastating that the neurologist in the ICU said he would be “a vegetable”. That was not an option for Joe…we were going to make sure he received all the care he needed to make a come-back.
After his stroke, he was able to power through his time in the hospital ICU – to inpatient rehab – to a skilled nursing facility for continued Physical Therapy (PT), Occupational Therapy (OT) and Speech Therapy (ST) – to being able to come home, five months later, just before Easter 2011. He was able to walk and climb stairs, when few thought he would be able to achieve that. While he has residual paralysis of his right arm/hand and paresis of his right leg, he was able to learn to eat, read and talk again, walk with a quad cane and go up and down stairs (a must in our home - 15 steps to entry and 15 steps to the 2nd floor, where the 2 bathrooms are located), complete all his self-care/activities of daily living, take care of our dog – his daily companion, and participate in other activities of interest, such as going to the theatre, going out to eat with friends, and to baseball games with friends and family. He is truly an inspiration to all who know him…and those that don’t yet! All this is to say, Joe is a fighter. And people respect his struggles and his achievements.
Then he took a terrible fall in October 2019, breaking his hip and shoulder. Following his hospitalization, he again went to inpatient rehabilitation and then to a skilled nursing facility. At the end of that stay in December, 2019, he came home and he has received homecare PT, OT, Home Health Aide and Nursing for the past 6 months. We installed two chairlifts in the house to get him to the second floor, which he learned to use independently. He continued to make progress with walking and doing stairs.
Recently the screw and nails put in to repair his broken hip eroded through the head of the femur and needed to be removed. It is doubtful he will be able to walk or do stairs successfully again. He has now he has been in the hospital again for 3 weeks and has just transferred to a skilled nursing facility for more rehabilitation.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe is unable to have any visitors. For his first 14 days he must be in isolation/quarantine as he is new to the facility. This will be extremely hard on him.
In the past, our home has been adapted with double handrails inside and outside, shower-seat, hand-held shower, replacing carpet with tile, and home and travel wheelchairs (for long-distances). Now we need to have a ramp added to be able to get him in and out of the house safely and easily. During his recent trip to the emergency room, the EMTs had to carry him out of the house to the gurney to get to the ambulance. Three estimates to build a ramp have ranged from $20,000 to $25,000 to be in ADA compliance, due to the terrain of the yard. These amounts are beyond our ability to cover at this time following all the other adaptations already made to the house. Insurance will not cover a ramp, because it is considered a “home improvement”.
He is determined to do his best…but it will take time. We have been through this before and he will work to improve again, but he will need a ramp and possibly an electric chair for the ramp to be able to enter and exit the house independently.
Joe’s stay in the skilled nursing facility is expected to be 20 days (to July 18, 2020). A ramp will be desperately needed by that time, in order to get him back into the house.
The support of his devoted wife Diana, as well as family, friends and community means the world to Joe, as he has meant the world to so many other people. He would be so grateful for the help to have this ramp built to be able to keep him in the home and neighborhood he loves, rather than have to go into a nursing home, as his doctor has suggested. Joe is life-long Pittsburgher.
He is well-known in the city and community and loved by his friends and neighbors. His neighbors are our support system and family, and continue to provide the help needed to keep Joe at home.
Heartfelt thanks go to you for your consideration of a donation to help build this ramp for Joe.
After his stroke, he was able to power through his time in the hospital ICU – to inpatient rehab – to a skilled nursing facility for continued Physical Therapy (PT), Occupational Therapy (OT) and Speech Therapy (ST) – to being able to come home, five months later, just before Easter 2011. He was able to walk and climb stairs, when few thought he would be able to achieve that. While he has residual paralysis of his right arm/hand and paresis of his right leg, he was able to learn to eat, read and talk again, walk with a quad cane and go up and down stairs (a must in our home - 15 steps to entry and 15 steps to the 2nd floor, where the 2 bathrooms are located), complete all his self-care/activities of daily living, take care of our dog – his daily companion, and participate in other activities of interest, such as going to the theatre, going out to eat with friends, and to baseball games with friends and family. He is truly an inspiration to all who know him…and those that don’t yet! All this is to say, Joe is a fighter. And people respect his struggles and his achievements.
Then he took a terrible fall in October 2019, breaking his hip and shoulder. Following his hospitalization, he again went to inpatient rehabilitation and then to a skilled nursing facility. At the end of that stay in December, 2019, he came home and he has received homecare PT, OT, Home Health Aide and Nursing for the past 6 months. We installed two chairlifts in the house to get him to the second floor, which he learned to use independently. He continued to make progress with walking and doing stairs.
Recently the screw and nails put in to repair his broken hip eroded through the head of the femur and needed to be removed. It is doubtful he will be able to walk or do stairs successfully again. He has now he has been in the hospital again for 3 weeks and has just transferred to a skilled nursing facility for more rehabilitation.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe is unable to have any visitors. For his first 14 days he must be in isolation/quarantine as he is new to the facility. This will be extremely hard on him.
In the past, our home has been adapted with double handrails inside and outside, shower-seat, hand-held shower, replacing carpet with tile, and home and travel wheelchairs (for long-distances). Now we need to have a ramp added to be able to get him in and out of the house safely and easily. During his recent trip to the emergency room, the EMTs had to carry him out of the house to the gurney to get to the ambulance. Three estimates to build a ramp have ranged from $20,000 to $25,000 to be in ADA compliance, due to the terrain of the yard. These amounts are beyond our ability to cover at this time following all the other adaptations already made to the house. Insurance will not cover a ramp, because it is considered a “home improvement”.
He is determined to do his best…but it will take time. We have been through this before and he will work to improve again, but he will need a ramp and possibly an electric chair for the ramp to be able to enter and exit the house independently.
Joe’s stay in the skilled nursing facility is expected to be 20 days (to July 18, 2020). A ramp will be desperately needed by that time, in order to get him back into the house.
The support of his devoted wife Diana, as well as family, friends and community means the world to Joe, as he has meant the world to so many other people. He would be so grateful for the help to have this ramp built to be able to keep him in the home and neighborhood he loves, rather than have to go into a nursing home, as his doctor has suggested. Joe is life-long Pittsburgher.
He is well-known in the city and community and loved by his friends and neighbors. His neighbors are our support system and family, and continue to provide the help needed to keep Joe at home.
Heartfelt thanks go to you for your consideration of a donation to help build this ramp for Joe.
Organizer and beneficiary
Karla Owens
Organizer
Pittsburgh, PA
Diana Dewey Emanuele
Beneficiary