Giving Smiles Creating Hope:
Meet Sandie, the winner of the
next Giving Smiles, Creating Hope nomination!
We received multiple nominations
to help her smile. Here’s an excerpt from
one of them:
“I don’t know anyone more deserving to get
their smile back than Sandie DeHamer. I
have known Sandie for over 40 years. She
is always the cheerleader for anyone needing encouragement, always the first to
volunteer to help any way she can for someone in need. Now it is her time of need.
I am not sure how it happened since Sandie
rarely talks about herself and never complains.
But I notice she has been covering her mouth when she smiles and it
looks like she has a broken tooth. I
imagine she meant to get it fixed before her world started to turn upside down.
Being a Realtor the last several years has
been difficult. I know. But for Sandie, the last few years has been
one heartbreaking event after another.
She lovingly cared for both her dad then her mom when they fell ill and
one after another passed away within a few months. Shortly after, her husband was hospitalized
with pneumonia and is now facing some major life health challenges himself. Sandie never complains. She is like an angel. The only way you knew what she was going thru
was because she would ask for prayers for her loved ones facing the major life
challenges. She has a faith so strong
and love for God so deep, it is truly an inspiration.
Please help our angel get her smile
back! She will take that smile and share
it with the world, bringing hope to so many with that gift. It is just who she is.
All the best,
Jan Norton Fairchild”
Another nomination Sandie
received:
“Dear Dr. Dykstra and Staff,
I am writing on behalf of the letter I
received in the mail, 2013 Giving
Smiles, Creating Hope. What a
wonderful idea!
I am writing on behalf o my precious wife
Sandie.
I can not think of anyone who is more
deserving and in need of getting her smile back.
She came to your office last year for a teeth
cleaning. It was the first time in over
2 years that she had been to the dentist.
I brought her in, along with her mom for “moral” support since she has a
fear of dental offices.
Her last 12 months have been full of taking
care of her dad and mom, myself, my brother and her mom’s brother, who she has
Power of Attorney for.
She received a phone call last year from her
dad stating he and mom were in St. Mary’s Hosplital. Her mom had just had a massive stroke. It was touch and go for awhile, but her mom
was stabilized and transferred a week later to Mary Free Bed for a long course
of rehabilitation. She had lost the ability
to walk and talk. Sandie’s family has a
very strong faith. They were in this for
the long haul. Sandie was a nurse for 22
years, so we the family relied on her heavily to advocate for her mom’s medical
care and needs.
A week later while Sandie, myself and her dad
were visiting her mom at Mary Free Bed, her dad started coughing and had a severe shortness of breath episode…
he could hardly walk. Sandie ran to get
a wheel chair for him. Being a former
nurse, her first thought went to pneumonia since it was cold and flu season,
and her dad had a history of getting pneumonia in the winter months. Against her dad’s objections, Sandie wheeled
him over to St. Mary’s Emergency room from Mary Free Bed leaving a very worried
mom behind who could not voice her fear.
Long story short, he was admitted to the hospital that night with what
they thought was a very bad case of pneumonia.
Sandie asked for a secondary specialist she knew to come in and take a
look at her dad. After reviewing the
x-rays, a biopsy was suggested. The
biopsy came back as Stage IV lung cancer with maybe 3-6 months for her dad to
live. Devastating news! Her mom in Mary Free Bed with at least a year
of rehab and her dad with terminal lung cancer.
Two weeks after that diagnosis, I got very
sick and ended up being admitted to St. Mary’s for pneumonia. Now she had 3 loved ones in the
hospital. 1 month after that my brother
Pete was hospitalized for pneumonia… now she had 4 of us.
The rest of her year was equally as bad. Her dad ended up going home to Heaven March
16th. His one year
anniversary is this Saturday. Her mom
came to live with us for 8 weeks after being discharged from the hospital. She had another massive stroke and God called
her home May 18th. I have
been in the hospital 3 more times since last year for pneumonia and the flu
virus.
She gave up working as a full time Realtor
last January when her dad and mom were admitted to the hospital. We decided it was more important for her
parents to have their daughter with them.
She was in the hospital a total of 112 days last year with all of her
loved ones, staying the night, going home long enough to get a change of
clothes and shower. She was her mom’s
BEST cheerleader at all of her therapy sessions, cheering her on for everyone
else to hear. She even became other
patient’s cheerleaders when they had no one there to encourage them. It was a blessed year for both her parents
and her, since precious time was spent together before God took them Home.
The long and short of this letter is to
nominate her for the Giving Smiles and Creating Hope.
Sandie has no health insurance or dental
insurance being a Realtor. We do not
have the funds for her to have either.
She is a diabetic so I worry about that the most, but she takes good
care of herself and checks her sugars daily.
She cracked her tooth last year and has not
had the money to have it repaired. She
did have one tooth pulled about 3 months ago because the pain was so bad. The office you referred us to was full of
grace and mercy and charged her the minimum fee.
I want her to be able to smile again without being
self conscious and covering her mouth.
She has such a beautiful smile with her dimples.
Thank you for taking the time to read this
and consider my wife for this incredible gift that you are giving.
Warmest Regards,
Roy DeHamer”
Sandie will be receiving over $5000 in free dental work to
give her back her smile!
