Across the Miami Valley, people are doing all they can to help.
That includes Marcy Szynski of Englewood, who heard of a need and didn’t hesitate to step up.
Marcy’s husband, Alan, contacted us here at WHIO to let us know what she’d been doing…single-handedly making more than a hundred masks for people at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base Cancer Care Center.
“A lot of people were grabbing handfuls of the disposable masks and they were running low,” he told us, “so she volunteered her services and downloaded a pattern from the internet of an approved mask style for light duty. Apparently they are a hit with the patients and she is getting special requests (bedazzling). She is now waiting for more elastic to come in.”
The story of hospitals needing masks for patients and healthcare workers is a worldwide story, and affects all of our healthcare centers here in the Miami Valley. You can click here to read about how to help locally.
For Marcy, this isn't the first time she's put her crafting to good use. Her husband was a patient at the cancer center, and while he got treatment, she got busy making blankets for "doctors, nurses, cleaning ladies and anyone else who was involved in helping me," Alan said. Even arthritis doesn't stop her, though it may slow her down on some days. She's also made about 200 baby blankets for Josseph's Closet at the Dayton Ronald McDonald House.
And she knows what it’s like to be a patient: she “took a break,” as her husband says, “to have a kidney removed due to cancer.”
That helping spirit is something of a family trait. Their daughter, Allison, signed up to be a kidney donor for any suitable matches. Another daughter, Jennifer, has knitted dozens of hats for the cancer center.
“As you can tell, I’m very proud of my wife and daughters,” he told us.
So are we, Mr. Szynski. So are we.
If you'd like to learn how you can make masks or donate other protective equipment, click here. If you've got a story to share about someone you know in the Miami Valley who is helping, head to our facebook page at facebook.com/whionews and let us know.
