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Do IT this week: Layering
Vintage car enthusiasts band together to help fellow driver after surgery leads to paralysis
By Bill Lilley
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Sunday, Jul 05, 2009
MUNROE FALLS: Their taste in vintage cars varies from Fords to Chevys to Buicks, and they will only agree to disagree on who has the hottest ride.
But there is one thing that is a constant about every member of the Cool Cats Cruisers.
''Any time another Cruiser is down, all of the Cool Cats rally to pick him up,'' said Cuyahoga Falls auto dealer Don Sitts. ''It's just the way it is, and it's what makes these people such special people.''
Jay Herring will emphatically echo Sitts' assessment.
The 4-foot-3 Herring, a Cool Cat with a 1965 Thunderbird convertible, underwent emergency back surgery March 12 at St. Thomas Hospital after suffering leg, bowel and bladder problems because of spinal stenosis.
The five-hour surgery left Herring, a 68-year-old retiree who worked as a tool and die inspector at R.F. Cook Manufacturing in Stow, paralyzed from the waist down.
His home of 25 years on South River Road was not equipped to handle the wheelchair he needs.
''I was a prisoner in my own home,'' Herring said. ''I couldn't go anywhere on my own.''
His wife of 47 years, Pam, feared for more than her husband's comfort.
''When I was at work, I was scared to death about what would happen to Jay if there was a fire in the house,'' said Pam Herring, who is a cook in the Stow-Munroe Falls school district. ''There was no way he could get out and that had me worried sick.''
Once word got out about Herring's situation, the Cool Cats sprang into action.
Sitts loaned the Herrings a van with a wheelchair lift.
But Herring still had to get from his hospital bed in the house to the van to go to his numerous medical appointments and to the RiverFront Car Cruise held every Monday evening from late May through Halloween.
Sitts sent his son, Steve, and another worker to Herring's house to carry Jay from his bed to the van.
Sitts and the Cruisers also helped handle the financial needs for making his house wheelchair accessible.
''These Cruisers are such great people that when they found out about the situation at Jay's house, the first thing they all said was, 'How quickly can we raise the money to get ramps installed?' so that he could go in his wheelchair to his car,'' Sitts said.
The estimated cost of the material was $1,000 for two small ramps in the rear of the home to the deck out back and a 30-foot ramp from the front door to the driveway area.
Sitts promptly donated $500.
''I've never met a businessman as generous as Don Sitts,'' said Pam Herring. ''Just thinking of all that he has done for Jay brings tears from my eyes.
''We will never be able to repay Don and the rest of the Cruisers for what they have done: given my husband a better quality of life.''
Mark Schlarb, another Cool Cat, won the 50-50 drawing at the RiverFront Car Cruise on June 15 and donated the $500 in winnings to the project.
Carter Lumber in Kent cut $300 from the price of the lumber for the ramps, Jay Herring said.
Three full days of labor were free, courtesy of Cool Cat Joe Wasielewski, who served as straw boss, and six other Cool Cats. Herring's next-door neighbor, Joe Feldman, eagerly donated his services when he found out what was going on.
Cool Cat member Bob Olds pounded nails and provided free service from his exterminating company to clear out two hornets' nests lodged near the major ramp.
''I knew I had a lot of friends, but I never realized there were this many, and they would be willing to go to the extremes to help somebody like they did,'' said Herring, who hopes to drive a car again with the aid of hand controls.
''The ramps mean a lot to me, but mostly they give me an independence to live my life. I will forever be grateful to Don Sitts and the rest of the Cruisers who have helped me.''
Bill Lilley can be reached at 330-996-3811 or blilley@thebeaconjournal.com.
MUNROE FALLS: Their taste in vintage cars varies from Fords to Chevys to Buicks, and they will only agree to disagree on who has the hottest ride.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Posted 12:55 PM, 07/07/2009
Awesome story. Nice to see that there are still good people who care about their fellow man or woman. Nice to read something positive.
