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Monday, December 31, 2007
Community response gets man to Boston
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC Gwinnett News reporters and photographers covered about thousands of stories this year. We asked our staff to share with readers how a particular story touched them — personally or professionally. “Touched by a Story” is the result. This is the final story of the year and we hope you also will be touched by this story. In the process, you will get a glimpse into the workings of the journalists who hustle every day to bring you the news.
Time was ticking.
He had four days to get to Boston, or else he’d lose a bed in the Boston Home, a century-old nursing home. Jack Stabinsky had been trying to get into the renowned facility for some time. He suffers from multiple sclerosis, and as the disease inevitably progresses, he’d wanted to relocate from the Life Care Center of Gwinnett in Lawrenceville to a specialized center.
On July 6, a Friday, he got word that one of the Boston center’s 96 beds was available. He’d have to get up there lickety-split, though; the nursing home couldn’t hold the space indefinitely.
Dick Deacon’s a friend of Stabinsky’s. He thought that, if the situation were publicized, someone might step forward to help him get to Boston as quickly, and as cheaply, as possible.
My column about Stabinsky’s plight ran July 10. It simply asked for ideas, suggestions, anything, that offered hope. Readers were told to call Deacon. He was overwhelmed by the response. Me, too.
Dozens of readers contacted Deacon to assist. Some suggested Stabinsky might qualify for a “mercy flight.” Others offered up frequent flier miles, buddy passes, airline tickets and money.
Needless to say, Stabinsky arrived in Boston two days after the column ran. Here’s how he got there:
An “elite traveler” donated the travel miles for him and Becky Moore, the admissions director at Life Care Center of Gwinnett, to fly Air Tran. Her return trip to Atlanta was free, too. Another anonymous donor paid for an ambulance service to take him from Boston’s Logan Airport to the nursing home.
And that’s where Stabinsky resides to this day.
Now, relatives like Jacqueline Dormer, a niece who lives in Pennsylvania, can visit. Days after “Uncle Jack” arrived, she posted a comment in my blog.
“God bless everyone for their support and help,” she wrote. “You have no idea how much you helped our family.”
What a tale.
As a columnist, it ranks as one of the best pieces of advocacy journalism I’ve ever written.
As a Gwinnett resident, the miracle provided by this community serves as a prime example of what makes the county special. I hope 2008 brings us more miracles like this one.
Rick Badie is the AJC Gwinnett News columnist. Reach him at 770-263-3875.
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