Joseph Preti

Dear Family and Friends,

I am writing this letter to ask for your help, specifically, your financial help for my husband Joe. As you know in October of 2010 Joe fell from the top of the stair case in our home incurring a spinal cord injury that has left him paralyzed from his nipples down. We were told immediately that he suffered a devastating prognosis and that it was “unlikely that he would ever walk again”.

As you know Joe has always been an energetic and enthusiastic individual. He has spent most of his life working and helping others. He was a busy guy and more so after he retired. The beautiful thing about Joe is that he was always the first one to jump up and volunteer to help someone who needed it and rarely did he ever ask for help, even when he was in need. Joe has always loved people and they in turn have always loved him. This was Joe right up until he fell. Then his life was changed in an instant but maybe not unalterably changed.

The spinal cord injury has been the hardest thing for Joe to live with. He has had many challenges as a result of this injury. He was left blind in his left eye as a direct result of the lifesaving surgery to stabilize his spine. Due to arthritis in both of his shoulders, pushing his wheelchair causes pain and severe spasms andhe cannot sit up straight. It is extremely difficult for Joe to care for himself and I am his 24 hour caregiver. There were a lot of tears and many dark days during Joe’s rehab where he lost any hope of ever having a normal life.

Today none of these things is an issue, today Joe has hope again and a smile on his face. Joe is himself in many ways today and this has not happened by accident. Today we are in Carlsbad, CA attending a program of recovery at Project Walk. At Project Walk they believe that the spinal cord and brain can be reorganized to allow for the return of function. They use an intense program of specific exercises intended to help Joe’s body learn to walk again. We have been here for just about a month and Joe has had a big change in his posture and has been able to have some deliberate and purposeful movement in his legs. This is obviously a huge occurrence but in order for Joe to walk again he will need to repeat these exercises hundreds maybe thousands of times. Project Walk is a non-profit and is not covered by any insurance; it costs $105.00 an hour. Currently he goes for three hours three times a week. We also have to pay for a hotel room as well as food and gas. We will be able to stay through the end of September then we will be out of money.

This is where you come in dear family and friends. Joe will not be able to keep going without raising the money to pay for it. We see many people at Project Walk on their feet and walking, people who have spinal cord injuries and were told they would never walk again. Please help Joe do the same.

To help with the cost of Project Walk and other uninsured medical expenses we have partnered with HelpHOPELive (formerly NTAF), a non-profit organization that has been assisting the transplant community for nearly 30 years. In 2000, they expanded their mission to include those who have sustained a catastrophic injury. All contributions are tax deductible, are held by HelpHOPELive in the Northwest Spinal Cord Injury Fund,and are administered by HelpHOPELive for injury related expenses only. If you are able to help Joe:

Make checks payable to:
HelpHOPELive

Note in memo section:
In honor of Joseph Preti

Please mail checks to:
HelpHOPELive
Two Radnor Corporate Center100 Matsonford Road, Suite 100
Radnor, PA 19087

For credit card contributions please call, 800-642-8399 or select the DONATE NOW button.

Sincerely yours,

Pauline