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Akron man is back to clowning around
Makeup lessons become therapy

After 8 strokes, heart attack patient relearns the skills needed for 'Hap the Hobo'

By Jewell Cardwell
Beacon Journal staff writer

Published on Saturday, Jul 19, 2008

As an occupational therapist, Denise Elsey teaches stroke patients ''activities of daily living.''

The goal is to return them to previous levels in terms of balance and being able to dress and feed themselves.

But one patient — Walter Holmes of Akron — had something more in mind.

When Elsey asked the 61-year-old man — who has suffered eight strokes in five years as well as a recent heart attack — about his goals, he said he wanted to be able to stand and wash dishes for his wife.

But there was something more he longed to do.

''He pointed to a picture on the wall and said, 'I want to be able to do that again,' '' Elsey recalled.

''I thought he meant he wanted to be able to paint.''

The picture was of a clown. The clown was Holmes.

Holmes, who has diabetes and is legally blind because of a detached retina in the left eye, had 25 years of professional clowning under his belt and was so not ready to turn in his big, red nose.

Elsey accepted the challenge, and she and Holmes went to work in earnest, with an emphasis on dexterity.

''He needed to be able to tie balloons. But more importantly, he needed to be able to put on his own makeup,'' said Elsey, who lives in Green and works for Paul Kroh Home Health Inc. of North Canton. The service provides occupational and physical therapists in the home.

''The neat thing about home care is being able to adjust the therapy to meet the patients' needs,'' Elsey noted.

I met earlier in the week with Holmes — whose clown moniker is ''Hap the Happy Hobo'' — and Elsey and observed them in action. Putting on his makeup.

Cheering the pair on were Merry, Holmes' wife of eight years, and Elsey's mother, Mary Muffly of Uniontown.

''We accidentally met online. He was in New Hampshire and I was in Massachusetts,'' Merry Holmes said, giggling about the man she would later wed.

Merry, who had been widowed two years earlier, expressed some reluctance about dating a clown. ''Then I thought to myself, why not? It's time for some fun in my life.''

Not only has she had no regrets, but she even joined him in clowning, calling herself ''Miss Hap.''

''She's been the light of my life,'' said Holmes, a man of very few words.

Holmes — who walks with a cane and still has a long way to go in his therapy — managed, with a little help from Elsey, to put on his makeup in 45 minutes, about the same time it used to take.

''I don't believe in being disabled. I never have,'' said Holmes, who has been a diabetic for 50 years but worked for a time as a forest ranger and in scouting.

On this day, Holmes sat at the dining-room table. With all of the tools of his trade before him, he meticulously embarked on the journey of applying his other face.

It had been five years, in and out of the hospital and nursing homes, since he had come face to face with Hap.

Clearly, he was loving the journey back.

We all were.

After he had finished brushing on his beard and penciling in Hap's eyebrows, the next step was applying baby powder, followed by cold water to set his makeup.

''My job is to do the tears under his eye,'' Elsey said, picking up the special pencil.

The tears, Holmes noted, have significance. ''It means I'm so happy I could cry,'' he said. Holmes registered his face; something professional clowns do so that other clowns don't copy their look.

Soon it was time to put on his B-2,red nose, his wig and hat.

His patched jacket was teeming with message buttons:

God Loves a Clown and Me!

Some People Have One of Those Days, I Have One of Those Lives!

Growing Old is Mandatory, Growing Up is Optional!

Then it was time to crank up the hurdy-gurdy — a boxy, stringed, musical instrument — to really set the mood.

''It's been a real joy to be in his home and to help return him to the highest function level,'' Elsey said.

''What he needs most right now is to be reconnected with the clown community. Other clowns to mentor him back.''

Interested in helping Walter Holmes ease from tragedy back into the spotlight? Call 330-753-2126 or e-mail merryh49@aol.com.

Jewell Cardwell can be reached at 330-996-3567 or jcardwell@thebeaconjournal.com.

As an occupational therapist, Denise Elsey teaches stroke patients ''activities of daily living.''

Get the full article here.


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