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Homeless Veteran with PPMS
I have a friend who works in Round Rock Fire dept.’s Crisis response unit. They work with opioid overdose, and get calls from homeless veterans, and people in general. (Community risk reduction) She contacted me as they had an Army veteran with PPMS and glaucoma. He and his family are also homeless.
Primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) is a type of multiple sclerosis (MS). It causes your symptoms to gradually get worse rather than having a relapse of symptoms. MS affects your central nervous system. Symptoms may include loss of balance, tremors and muscle pain.
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can cause vision loss and blindness by damaging a nerve in the back of your eye called the optic nerve.
There’s no cure for glaucoma.
The veteran’s name is Levi Washington III. He has VA benefits, but like the bureaucracy of VA, he has an apartment VA has already covered his move in, but the city has an inspection delay until January 15. He with his wife Irma are living out of their car, and has two daughters who are going to college, but now that the holidays are here, they too are homeless.
My friend CRR contacted me, and said they had no food, but heard second hand she thought the case manager had found donations from a church for them to stay in a hotel until January 15.
She asked could we help. I told them yes, they could call me on Christmas eve.
They split a banana for their entire food for a day the day before we met them.
Levi has been in a wheelchair for 20 years. His pain a 15 out of 1-10. If he is out of a wheelchair trying to stand, the pain is so bad within two minutes he has to sit down. Again this has been for 20 years.
We met them at the school. Chandra and I provided lunch with PT Terrys double cheeseburger and fries.
I worked on his pain, and for the first time in 20 years, he was pain free, and was able to walk, even do pushups, and folded the wheelchair and stuck it in the back of the car.
They had no food, so we went to Randalls and purchased all the cajun gumbo recipe they needed.
They have food for about a week or two now, and this along with giving them hope was also part of our donors.
We support all Veterans, and if we hear back from Levi, we will do our best to work on his nutrition, and perhaps financial help. We pray for him and his family.
Hebrews 13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
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