Dear Friends,
We cannot believe a year has past. Team Rocco wants to take this opportunity to express to all of you what the last year has meant to Rocco, Marco and Rita. We are extremely thankful for your support. Because of your generosity we have been able to purchase Rocco a wheelchair, a computer communication device and most importantly, pay for a qualified respiratory nurse to come for three 5-hour shifts per week to provide Rita relief from her 17-hour days of caring for him.
Your support has allowed the family to stay together rather than see Rocco in a sterile hospital setting. Rocco’s quality of life is enriched by being at home.
Your help and unwavering support for his family brings a smile to his face, a gleam of hope to his eyes, and his unbroken spirit shines through. As he lies locked in a broken body, dependent on others for nourishment and on a machine to breathe, it is friends like you who continue to feed his heart. It is your continued support that feeds our spirit too.
We are so pleased to hear how everyone enjoyed last year’s Gala and are humbled by everyone’s urging to have another. It was a wonderful night and we all loved reconnecting with so many of you. Rocco has spent hours looking at the pictures of the event and living the evening through them.
The Volunteer Committee is hard at work planning this year’s event and would like to invite you to the 2011 Gala of Inspiration, on Friday November 18th, 2011, at the Bellvue Manor, 8003 Jane Street in Vaughan, ON. The cocktail reception will begin at 6.30 p.m. followed by dinner, dancing and entertainment starting at 7:00 p.m. We look forward to our evening together.
This year we hope to raise funds to continue with Rocco’s homecare and in addition be able to purchase a devise that will allow him to have a full shower.
With heartfelt appreciation,
Team Rocco
www.teamrocco.org
To purchase tickets please contact Team Rocco at
(416) 881-2582 or by email at altarossa@hotmail.com
Donations can also be made payable to Team Rocco at
P.O. Box 21 Kleinburg, Ontario L0J 1C0
Our Life with ALS:
On December 17th, 2007, our world was turned upside down when my husband Rocco was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) at the age of 44.
While this disease has attacked Rocco’s body, his mind remains completely alert and lucid. The disease has progressed to the point where his lively alert mind is trapped in a completely immobilized body. Rocco’s breathing is assisted and his only means of communication is through the use of his eyes. I am his voice and advocate. Rocco communicates with me by blinking once for yes and twice for no (this of course only works with yes and no questions). When he’s in a chatty mood I read off the alphabet and watch for the blink and write down the letters as he spells the words to me. Let me tell you I never realized how broad his vocabulary is. We are perfecting the use of short forms. He is also using a computer communication device that has preprogrammed words that are activated by tracking his eye movements. We have this device thanks to your generosity.
As we face the challenges each day brings I watch my proud husband face this new path with courage and an unfaltering devotion to his family. I have drawn inspiration from his commitment to life. Rocco savours every moment he spends participating in our son, Marco’s everyday life. We privately struggled with all the stressors this disease brought to our family until November of last year. The time had come to let our family, friends and community participate in our fight against this debilitating disease. So many of you expressed your desire to help and help you did. We are forever grateful. Our dream was to be able to keep Rocco at home where we could continue to nurture the strong family bond that means so much to him. Because of you we are living that dream, as a matter of fact he just celebrated his 48th birthday surrounded by family and friends. Thank you all for that. We look forward to next year’s birthday celebration.
God Bless You All
Rita Tatangelo