A Mercy T.R.U. Hope Christmas Miracle | Mercy Retirement Center ...

Here at Mercy?s T.R.U. Hope, ?tis the season for Christmas miracles?and Lawrence Polito?s story fits the bill.

Lawrence Polito was born in North Providence, Rhode Island in 1927. He served in the Coast Guard for 20 years, and when they docked in San Francisco, he met his wife Marilou. He decided right then to stay in the Bay Area, and he?s been here ever since. He and Marilou married in their early 20s, and over the years had four children, which grew into an extended family of nine grandchildren. He and his family lived in the East Bay, and after he retired from the Coast Guard, Lawrence continued to work for many years in the office of Macy?s movers division. Lawrence and Marilou lived at home together, waking up early to share breakfast and read the newspaper. They?d often get out of the house to have special lunch dates. Yes, dates?even after more than 60 years of marriage!

When Lawrence had a stroke in early September, it created a tidal wave of problems. He was unable to speak, had extreme difficulty swallowing, experienced bleeding and swelling in his brain, and was unable to walk. He developed pneumonia and required surgery for placement of a feeding tube. Lawrence?s prognosis was grim when the doctor recommended he be discharged from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility. Marilou and two of their children came in to tour Mercy?s T.R.U. Hope, and immediately felt great about Lawrence coming to us. They knew it would be a long process for Lawrence to recover enough to hopefully one day return home to his loving family, and they knew T.R.U. Hope was the right place for him.

We?ll never forget the day Lawrence came to our T.R.U. Hope program. It was mid-September, and he was thin and weak, unable to speak or focus on conversation due to his stroke and his medications. We prayed for a miracle that Lawrence would one day return to the home he shared with Marilou for the last 60 years. So all of us at T.R.U. Hope joined forces?nursing, dietary, activities, physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy all worked with Lawrence, and never gave up hope for his recovery. There were ups and downs, sweat and tears, and rejoicing all along the way for each obstacle Lawrence overcame.

This year, against all odds, Lawrence and Marilou will spend Christmas in their East Bay home with their loving family. His extended family, the Mercy T.R.U. Hope staff, sang ?I?ll Be Home for Christmas? as Lawrence graduated from the program on December 22nd. We were proud and joyful seeing Lawrence walk through our doors without his feeding tube, singing along with us.

Lawrence is the reason we do what we do at Mercy T.R.U. Hope?and he?s our Christmas miracle.

Source: http://mercyretirementcenter.org/blog/a-mercy-t-r-u-hope-christmas-miracle.html

sports illustrated swimsuit 2012 aretha franklin whitney houston paul williams paul babeu kevin costner budweiser shootout animal house