An Alton Family Member Needs Your Prayers!!!
Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 1:16 pm
Where do I begin... <IMG SRC="http://www.campalton.com/smilies/frown.gif" BORDER=0 ALT=":(">
These past thirteen days have been some of the most difficult and emotional days that I and my family have ever experienced. Although not a blood relative this Altonite is a member of my family and has been from the day I met him when I boarded the Alton bus in Stamford Ct for my first trip to Wolfeboro back in 1970!
For those of you that know Mel (or Jewronimo as he is known in Alton lore) he has always been a source of great fun, laughter, Alton trivia and other factoids of little or no value, and just a great person to know and be around. If not for Mel I may have never memorized 3/4s of the lines from all the Marx Brothers movies?saw them ALL while in camp!!! He is also one of the most dedicated people I have ever met. As an educator he is loved by all his former and current students. Just like all those campers and counselors he has touched over the years.
Almost 2 weeks ago I received a call that ? to say the least sucked the life right out of me. I do not want to go into too much detail on this board because of its ?public? nature and I have hesitated to post anything until I knew more?but prodded by the other Altonites that know about this Uncle Mark and Uncle Neil and getting permission from Mel, albeit in a somewhat medically altered state, I have decided to make public the news.
Two weeks ago Mel was with a group of his high school students at (I believe) a Model UN in NJ?something he has done for years, when he was stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage that left him unconscious. In spite of this his students, although very scared, but truly inspired, went on to win the competition!!! At the time the doctors were extremely downbeat giving odds that were almost as bad as betting on the NY Jets ? in fact for the first 48 hours it was ? to say the least touch and go. The first good news we received was day 4 when we learned that he was able to move his extremities?but he was still only semi conscious. It was not until about 1 week ago that he began to communicate. With a little divine intervention and some assistance from Rebs Moishe and Brier he has been making slow and steady progress.
I visited with him this past Monday and when I walked into his room he immediately recognized me ? which made me feel a lot better?although he appears at this time to be out of the woods he has a very long and difficult road to recovery in front of him?
For those of you that either know him personally or just through his many postings on the message board I ask you now to pray for Mel?s speedy and complete recovery. He has been an integral part of Camp Alton for countless years and has touched many of us in a variety of ways. As we have done many times in the past when necessary?the Alton family comes together in times such as this?lets hope our strength in numbers will help Mel through the challenges he now faces!
If you would like more info please contact me privately?
Regards to all,
Gary
gms@pipeline.com
These past thirteen days have been some of the most difficult and emotional days that I and my family have ever experienced. Although not a blood relative this Altonite is a member of my family and has been from the day I met him when I boarded the Alton bus in Stamford Ct for my first trip to Wolfeboro back in 1970!
For those of you that know Mel (or Jewronimo as he is known in Alton lore) he has always been a source of great fun, laughter, Alton trivia and other factoids of little or no value, and just a great person to know and be around. If not for Mel I may have never memorized 3/4s of the lines from all the Marx Brothers movies?saw them ALL while in camp!!! He is also one of the most dedicated people I have ever met. As an educator he is loved by all his former and current students. Just like all those campers and counselors he has touched over the years.
Almost 2 weeks ago I received a call that ? to say the least sucked the life right out of me. I do not want to go into too much detail on this board because of its ?public? nature and I have hesitated to post anything until I knew more?but prodded by the other Altonites that know about this Uncle Mark and Uncle Neil and getting permission from Mel, albeit in a somewhat medically altered state, I have decided to make public the news.
Two weeks ago Mel was with a group of his high school students at (I believe) a Model UN in NJ?something he has done for years, when he was stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage that left him unconscious. In spite of this his students, although very scared, but truly inspired, went on to win the competition!!! At the time the doctors were extremely downbeat giving odds that were almost as bad as betting on the NY Jets ? in fact for the first 48 hours it was ? to say the least touch and go. The first good news we received was day 4 when we learned that he was able to move his extremities?but he was still only semi conscious. It was not until about 1 week ago that he began to communicate. With a little divine intervention and some assistance from Rebs Moishe and Brier he has been making slow and steady progress.
I visited with him this past Monday and when I walked into his room he immediately recognized me ? which made me feel a lot better?although he appears at this time to be out of the woods he has a very long and difficult road to recovery in front of him?
For those of you that either know him personally or just through his many postings on the message board I ask you now to pray for Mel?s speedy and complete recovery. He has been an integral part of Camp Alton for countless years and has touched many of us in a variety of ways. As we have done many times in the past when necessary?the Alton family comes together in times such as this?lets hope our strength in numbers will help Mel through the challenges he now faces!
If you would like more info please contact me privately?
Regards to all,
Gary
gms@pipeline.com
