Help Kathy (aka Kathleen!) Keep Working & Supporting Her Family
(Update: See also this article on Kathy in the March 25th Lakeland Ledger Newspaper)

by Jane Dewar, 17Mar2007

Kathy Sauviac is a unique individual. Widowed since 2001, the 53 year old mother of four, works FULL TIME and relies on her automated, customized van to get to and from work, driving herself from Lakeland to Orlando, Florida roundtrip.

Kathy is my best friend. If she wants it, she has a job here at Gorilla Haven. But she has to survive first. She's a survivor and an inspiration to everyone who knows her, but events continue to conspire to knock her down. She's survived things that would have flattened an able-bodied person.

Kathy has ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease - and is confined to a wheelchair. She needs a ventilator to breathe, and is fed by a tube.  She and her service dog, Skye, work full time, thanks to her customized/computerized van which allows her mobility she wouldn't otherwise have.  That's Kathy and Skye on the left, in her wheelchair, which carries her ventilator on the back.

Mix-up at the Bank!   Updated 28Mar07:

After several people reported having trouble trying to donate to Kathy via Sun Trust Bank, it was discovered after the Ledger story ran on March 25th, that the bank could not find her account.

Why? It's under her legal name of KATHLEEN Sauviac, not Kathy Sauviac(!).

Now, if you're like me, you'd think the bank could have made the great leap to look a little closer to find the right account.

Sun Trust insists they did nothing wrong, owe Kathy (or Kathleen) no apologies and asks anyone donating to be sure to mention the Kathleen Sauviac account.

How many donations were turned away between March 17th and the 26th, we don't know. Just what Kathy needed....

Kathy's van is on its last legs and requires more repair than she can afford, or that it is worth, at this point in time. She needs a new van. But unlike so many on the dole, who just want hand-outs and hold pity-parties, Kathy just wants the new van so she can reliably get to and from work, so she can pay her bills and continue her modest lifestyle. There is no bus service where she lives and while Vocational Rehabilitation has approved payment for the adaptations she needs, they are requiring that these be made on a new van.

Few people live with ALS as long as Kathy has managed.  With her youngest child, David, still living at home to help Kathy manage and to help pay bills, Kathy recently suffered yet another horrible blow:  just before Christmas 2006, David was diagnosed with acute renal failure. Now not only must her van drive Kathy to her work in Orlando, but she has to take David to dialysis three times a week in Lakeland, as well as driving to Tampa, where David is being assessed to receive a kidney transplant one day (although that's another financial hurdle to overcome). Without a van she can drive, both she and her son will literally be stuck without a life line.

Kathy is not asking for a hand out - just a hand up.  We're trying to help her get back on track, so she can continue to work to pay her bills and help her son, etc. The photo on the right shows Kathy with her two sons - David on the left and Jared on the right. Jared has recently joined the Navy and will soon be shipped overseas - as if Kathy needed one more thing to worry about!

This is an opportunity for everyone to chip in - whatever amount you can spare. Kathy loves gorillas almost as much as I do - as amazing as that may seem. She's a ray of sunshine and brings smiles to everyone who she meets and helping her will help a truly rare and wonderful human being.

You can:

Or make a contribution directly to Help Kathy Sauviac

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