Several of you may remember an appeal I made months ago for aid to help a young girl who needed a costly medical procedure. Many of you responded and I can not thank you enough. Here is the latest information on her.
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Thank Heaven from Heather 9/28/2001
It’s 1:30am, you’re in the bedroom of a ten year old girl and something wonderful is happening. There is no noise except for the rhythmic breathing of the girl as she sleeps and that is what makes this simple sound so wonderful. For the last nine plus years of Heather Klinker’s life her bedroom became a respiratory intensive care ward each night. At bedtime she was connected to a respirator with all of it’s mechanical noise and restrictions just to keep her alive. A high fever as an infant damaged her phrenic nerve and she no longer could breathe on her own when sleeping. Her Mom and Dad, Bob and Angela Klinker, were relegated to the role of nursing staff on call every night. Through years of power outages, illnesses, and even a house fire, they lovingly cared for Heather and dealt with all of the complications in their lives.
Now through the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and the generous donations from all over the country, Heather has received a truly wonderful gift, a quiet night’s sleep. A breathing pacemaker was implanted July 31st at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. After a healing period of about six weeks the pacemaker was tried. At first, the impulse from the device was set too low and Heather needed to go back on the respirator after only a few minutes. Over the next five to six nights the device was adjusted and the miracle of technology really became obvious. Heather’s sleeping oxygen levels were higher than they had ever been. She no longer needed the respirator and, according to her Mom, was having dreams and normal sleep for really the first time in her life. Normal is a wonderful word and was the real goal for Heather, normal sleep, normal breathing and a normal life. It is still early in this transition but it looks like our goal has been met.
Heather’s family, Heather herself, and all who had a part in the fundraising would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the contributors from the bottom of our hearts. We will never forget your caring generosity. God Bless You All.
Schoharie Valley Lodge # 491
W. Jordan Jaquay, Master
RW Robert Beach and RW Duncan M. Bellinger