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When area resident, Chuck Williams, 86, lost his wife earlier this year, it was heart-wrenching and has taken a toll on the family, especially Chuck. But they look out for each other. Midwest Mission had the privilege recently of being part of their story.
On Thursday, December 1, Taylor, from Synergy Home Healthcare of Springfield called Development Manager, Lisa Rigoni, here at Midwest Mission. “I was at Midwest Mission for the Good Morning Springfield Chamber breakfast you hosted back in February. It might be my imagination, but I was thinking you had medical supplies. So, I thought I’d call in case I didn’t dream it. I work for Synergy and the Dad of one of my client’s needs a hospital bed. Would you have something like that? Is it even something you do?”
Lisa said, “Yes, Midwest Mission does receive various medical supplies and sometimes beds.” After checking with Executive Director, Chantel Corrie, Operations Manager, Brad Walton, and Operations Specialist, Ramon Ortiz, she called Taylor back to let her know there weren’t any in stock. When Lisa got off the phone, Chantel stopped by her office smiling, “We don’t have a bed, YET” - fully aware that often when someone calls with a need, the requested item “randomly” shows up.
Sure enough, Friday after lunch, Lisa looked up from her desk to see both Chantel and Ramon standing in her doorway, grinning like Cheshire cats. Chantel asked, “Did your contact find a bed, yet?”
Then Ramon added, “Because we just got a call and someone is sending two hospital beds to us this afternoon. If they still need one, it can be picked up on Monday.”
After a call back to Taylor, Lisa found out the bed was still needed and the son had a truck and would come pick it up. Taylor called Lisa on Tuesday after some confusion about the pick-up schedule to see if the bed had actually been picked up.
“Yes,” Lisa told her, and went on to talk about how grateful the son was. “Dad hasn’t been sleeping well,” the son said. “This will help.” Ramon showed him how to operate it.
“Thank you so much. What do we owe you?” the son asked. Ramon was helping him load the bed … “Nothing. It’s a gift.”
Taylor was so excited. She was a caseworker for Chuck’s daughter and was going to their home on a regular basis. She noticed Chuck was sleeping on the couch and asked about it. That’s when the need for the bed came to surface. When Lisa explained how the beds “appeared unexpectedly” and credited God, Taylor was so moved. She said, “This is amazing. It’s a full-circle thing. I grew up with this family. His grandkids were my age … one a year behind me and one a year ahead and we all played together when we were young. That I am now helping to care for the family and see how this all came about … it’s really amazing. Thank you! It’s good to know we have this resource right here.”
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