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Serving Our Seniors is someone to call when you need help.
419-624-1856 800-564-1856
project. The people who live in Erie County really care
about what happens here. They are very tuned in.
From the people who vote against it, to the people who
vote for it. They are attuned to what the needs are and
what they want to support.”
Thanks to all of those active people, who 20
years ago, supported the idea of a senior citizen
organization to assist our seniors; thanks to
everyone who helped put up the signs, made a
phone call and urged support; thanks for all of the
community support over the years who have made
our success possible.
In March 1996 we passed our levy and in December of
that year we opened Serving Our Seniors office.
Although not a complete reflection of a full 20 years
of service, it is very close. Here are the programs
statistics of the most widely used services rendered
over the last 20 years.
•
332,628 +
Hot, home-delivered meals to seniors in
rural Erie County
•
188,004
Trips provided through weekday
transportation and expanded more extensively to
rural Erie County in 2006
•
165,972
questions/problems/concerns asked by Erie
County residents, ages 60+ and answered/resolved
by Serving Our Seniors
•
2,823
Minor home repairs
•
81,057
hours of in-home personal care and
housekeeping service
Hats off to Marian and Ray, Judge Lucal, and ALL
who made Serving Our Seniors a reality. They were
true visionaries!
1996 Judge Lucal & Sue Daugherty
Strokes Are Like Snowflakes…. They Are All Different!
Michael McDermott survived a stroke in
2007 and is sharing his story as a way to
reach out to others. He was the Stroke
Club’s speaker in May 2016, sharing his
story and survival, followed by a good
discussion. Michael will tell you that he
should not be alive to tell this story, so he
hopes you enjoy it…
Michael was traveling for business in Indiana when he
experienced unusual tiredness and confusion. He kept
nodding off, bumping the barrier and could not work his
cell phone. He was finally able to return to the parking lot
of his hotel, but not able to turn off the engine or get out
of his car.
When he finally woke up, the next day, his car had run
out of gas. By that time he had missed appointments. His
second appointment knew that was unlike him. She began
to make calls and reported him missing.
When Michael was located and taken to the emergency
room, at least 24 hours had passed. Diagnosis was
more difficult and treatment options were limited. His
“brain attack” was in the frontal lobe and his speech
was undecipherable for a time. He has, since, regained
his speech.
He continues to have some memory loss and occasional
depression. Today, Michael is one of the fortunate stroke
survivors, with no obvious deficiencies. He did lose his job
after a 20 year career.
His advice to others is “Get used to the new normal”. A
piece of the brain dies with stroke and we may never be
the same again. Never give up trying and you will continue
to improve.
As Michael worked to recover, he realized that he had been
saved and felt called to share history at church. Then it
grew to more churches and now he reaches out to many
stroke clubs in northern Ohio. Michael can be reached at
or his home number is
440-882-6263.
Adapted from Sandusky Area Stroke Club Newsletter
