Single Disabled Mom Receives Wheelchair Accessible Van From Smithtown's Bussani Mobility Team

Theresa Thomas and her momIt’s not Cinderella but it is a real life feel good story with some really good people and a happy ending. Theresa Thomas, a former Smithtown resident,  has seen her share of good times and some pretty sad times. Theresa became severely disabled seven years ago at the age of 39 by a genetic condition. As her condition worsened she was unable to work (Theresa is a nurse) or leave her home. Eventually she became homeless and lived in shelters for several years.  It was nearly impossible to provide the basic food, shelter and education for her children. Adding to her angst was her mom, 70,  (pictured in photo) who uses a wheelchair as a result of a brain injury and two strokes. 

Rocco standing by his mom’s new van loaded with holiday goodies and giftsLife was really hard for this family until some Christmas angels entered their life. The angels’ names are Allyson Scerri, John Bussani, Daniel Bussani and Nina Quartuccio. 

Ms. Scerri is the founder and president of New Beginnings a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping families cope with Traumatic Brain Injury (TMI). Ms. Scerri introduced Ms. Thomas to the Bussani Mobility Team in Smithtown. The Busanni’s, John Bussani (Founder and President), Daniel Bussani (Vice President) and Nina Quartuccio ( General Manager) determined that Ms. Thomas would be the second recipient of the company’s Peter Zarba Memorial Van Donation Program.   

John and Daniel BussaniThe Bussani Team set out to find a vehicle that would fit Theresa’s needs. They located a low mileage Chrysler Town & Country van and refurbished it making it wheelchair accessible. On Monday, December 30 this single, disabled mom of three received a life-changing holiday miracle gift when she was presented with the wheelchair accessible van, Theresa will be mobile again. She will regain her independence and be able to take care of her family in the way they were accustomed to before her physical disability set in.

Overjoyed at the presentation ceremony, Theresa Thomas said: “They didn’t give us a van. They gave us life…This beautiful gift allows us the ability to have a productive future. I can return to work, continue school, and begin to provide for my family again. All these things would never have been possible without your grace. We will live in a perpetual state of ‘pay it forward.’ You are Christmas angels to us and we thank you kindly for this immense Christmas blessing!”

Theresa, is working to finish her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology so she can become a social worker and live a life of service to others. She eventually wants to open a not-for-profit in Suffolk County connecting the disabled, mentally ill, homeless, and veterans to the many resources Long Island has to offer. 

“There’s no end to what this remarkable woman will do to help her family and the disabled community here on Long Island now that she has her own wheelchair accessible vehicle to get around,” said Daniel Bussani, Vice President at Bussani Mobility Team. “She has big dreams. With her perseverance, strength and compassion, we have no doubt that she’ll reach every one of them and she’ll touch many lives for the good.”

The van was donated by a Bussani Mobility Team customer and refurbished by the company. Two other local automotive companies contributed to the effort: Third Generation Auto Body (donated the body work) and Don’s Hand Car Wash (donated the detail work).

Bussani Mobility Team (www.bussanimobility.com and www.bussanicommercial.com) is a leading provider of automotive mobility products and services for people with disabilities. The company helps people with disabilities regain the freedom and independence to go where they want to go and do what they want to do. Established in 1974 with headquarters in Bethpage, NY (Nassau County) and with offices in Smithtown (Suffolk County), Mamaroneck (Westchester County) and Sunnyside (Queens), Bussani Mobility Team is a market leader in the Tri-State (NY, NJ, CT) area. The company’s team of experts offers: a complete line of wheelchair vans and mobility equipment from top manufacturers available for purchase or rental, wheelchair accessible taxis, a full-service automotive shop, 24-hour emergency service, special financing options, insurance services, educational opportunities, and in-store consultants who are dedicated to meeting their customers’ every need with a highly personal touch. 

New Beginnings (www.nbli.org), a not-for-profit 501©3, was founded by Allyson Barone Scerri after her father suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2007. Allyson quickly realized that as a caregiver in a family hit by TBI, there was a serious lack of coordinated services and her vision was to have them all connected under one roof. In April of 2010 Allyson opened the doors to a state of the art, never before seen facility for TBI rehab where all necessary modalities of treatment including Hyperbaric Oxygen are found under that one roof. Her facility is praised by medical professionals who are world renowned experts in the TBI field. She has geared the facility to be a Community Center that reaches out to TBI victims as well as victims of all other cognitive & physically disabling conditions and their caregiving families.

People In The News - Smithtown Goes To Cuba With Elaine Turley

By Chris Biancaniello

Smithtown resident Elaine Turley recently returned from visiting Cuba with the League of Women Voters (LWV) program Sisters Across the Staights*. Elaine Turley a League of Women Voters member is an attorney practicing Elder Law and Estate Planning. She is also a former chairperson of the Smithtown Democratic Committee. Elaine made a scheduled presentation to Smithtown LWV members about her October trip to Cuba on Dec. 17, 2014, the same day President Obama made his announcement about establishing relations with the small Caribbean country. 

For those with an interest in travel, Cuba seems to be a dream destination. Pristine beaches, and an intense history with the United States makes the country both beautiful and historically relevant for Americans. But, for U.S. citizens, travel to Cuba is difficult. Though President Obama’s recent move to establish relations with Cuba should certainly make travel easier going forward, very few Americans get the opportunity to visit this mysterious country. Elaine Turley, a Fort Salonga resident, recently had the opportunity to visit the outcast country that sits just 90 miles off the cost of Key West.

The League of Women Voters project Sisters Across the Straights provides the opportunity for involved citizens to travel to Cuba,  according to their website, “The aim is to end decades of isolation by building trust and improving relations among people.” Turley traveled with League of Women Voters members from locations ranging from Colorado to Alabama. Traveling with an experienced group like Sisters Across The Staights  enabled Turley to get a good sense of both Cuba’s beauty and the level of poverty faced by Cuban citizens.

Asked what surprised about her visit to Cuba? Turley said “I was surprised mostly by the decay of the beautiful old buildings due to lack of funds to invest in infrastructure.” Cuba is known as a location lost in time,  many of their cars and buildings were built in the 50’s they have much historical value, as well as incredible deterioration. In her presentation to the LWV members Elaine showed a slide show that included cars that are older than our president. Buildings that were once opulent and elegant have deteriorated almost beyond repair. In one slide of the Hotel Nacional De Cuba (brought back memories for some audience members who visited Cuba in the late 50’s)  there was a fountain that is still standing but no longer able to contain water. Totally inoperable and yet it has not been removed.

She was also able to openly converse with Cubans about their rights and freedoms, “I had a conversation with a group of Cuban people who were very curious about our right to express our ideas openly (freedom of speech) and who had a very difficult time understanding this concept that is such a fundamental part of our experience as Americans.” She also engaged in coversation about elections and democracy and expressed her sense of amazement that the people didn’t seem to see a difference in their elections and the ones we have in the U.S..

Given our history with Cuba since Fidel Castro gained power in 1959, it comes as no surprise that there are a Americans who do not believe we should establish a relationship with Cuba. Turley empathizes with them and understands their reasons, but she also says “The people of Cuba have hope that the opening of economic relations between our countries will bring greater prosperity to the individual citizens of Cuba and I am hopeful that they are right.  The people I met were industrious, resourceful, generous, kind people and I would like very much to see our nation help these individuals acquire and develop the tools they need to become more prosperous.” She anticipates that the free exchange of information will be equally as pertinent as the economic interest at hand, and hopes it will create the sort of social changes that the U.S. has been striving to make in Cuba for years.

Despite the recent move, travel restrictions will still be imposed on Cuba. Without congressional approval, U.S. citizens will still be barred from spending money in Cuba. That being said, Sisters Across the Straits will continue to offer a Cuban travel experience to interested League members, as for the future of Cuba, Turley has high hopes saying, “The Cubans I met seemed happy, hopeful and resourceful – proud of their heritage and their country, but hopeful that the economic situation will improve for them in the future.  The natural environment is astoundingly beautiful and I hope that as the economy moves towards capitalism there is restraint on development so that the natural beauty is preserved.”

*The article was amended to reflect that Sisters Across the Straits is a League of Women Voters program.

Book Review - "All the Light We Cannot See"

BOOK REVIEW - “All the Light We Cannot See” – Anthony Doerr - 531 pages – Scribner - Reviewed by Jeb Ladouceur

At the outset, I will confess I’ve resisted “All the Light We Cannot See” based on a few published reviews that, while generally favorable, gave me the impression the novel might be a bit sappy. However, when The New York Times named it one of the best books of 2014, I felt compelled to put my toe in the water that I’d feared might be somewhat oily and tepid. Though Anthony Doerr’s lengthy work is, in fact, occasionally insipid, I’m nonetheless glad I took its measure.

The story involves a French girl (blind since the age of six), Marie-Laure LeBlanc, and her German counterpart, a young Nazi soldier named Werner. She is a patriot wise beyond her tender years, he, an electronics prodigy absorbed by his skills, and both, in their own way, are determined to survive the horror which is World War II in occupied France.

I dislike telling much about the action in these well-crafted flashback tales—because doing so, it seems, threatens to diminish the reader’s sense of exploration and discovery. This is especially true in the case of narratives so expertly drawn that to tamper with their well-timed interweaving is to risk destroying the author’s almost mystical Rubik’s Cube of metaphors. So no more specifics as to the story line of “…All the Light…” Suffice it to say that the two young people at core of the plot come to comprise a duo that we are unlikely to forget long after this highly acclaimed book (finalist for the coveted 2014 National Book Award) has been closed.

But, to quote The Bard, “I run before my horse to market.”

There is no questioning the fact that novelist Doerr is a master of poignancy … that facility for inventing and defining pathos is illustrated early on when Marie-Laure’s father, a locksmith, constructs precise scale models of the various neighborhoods that he knows his sightless daughter will ultimately have to negotiate alone. The man’s objective is to have young Marie-Laure study the miniatures by touch and thereby master the paths she will soon be required to travel, aided only by her cane. What Papa LeBlanc is giving his child, of course, is the great gift of independence, and her embracing of the device (which stratagem, I must say, is a new one to this reviewer) defines the father’s compassion and insight as much as it does his daughter’s determination and intelligence. It is great literary theater.

It will come as no surprise that the lives of courageous Marie-Laure, and Hitler Youth conscript, Werner, ultimately converge … more than a few such stories have blossomed from the ashes of Nazism. Nor is this the first such book that forces the reader to wade through an uncomfortable first person (and even more awkward present tense) treatment of its otherwise compelling story. But it could be the best novel ever to survive these curious choices of form.

Some minor characters, it is sadly noted, are flat-out stereotypical, but in sum, this neatly researched book, by a still relatively young Anthony Doerr (41), is almost worthy of its many accolades. Indeed it is likely to become time-honored as the forerunner of similarly formulated novels in the future … one or more of which will almost certainly reward its author (and us) in the highest degree when its magical prose inevitably earns that elusive brass ring for literary excellence.

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Award-winning writer, Jeb Ladouceur is the author of nine novels, and his theater and book reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. In his newest thriller, HARVEST, an American military doctor is seized by a sinister gang of organ traffickers in The Balkans, and ordered to perform illegal surgeries.

Death Notice - Jake R. Spadalik

SPADALIK - Jake R., age 16 of Fort Salonga, NY passed away on December 20, 2014. Cherished son of Suzanne and Rick. Loving brother of  Julia and Ricky. Dear Grandson of  Muriel,  Lorraine “Nana” and Gene “Papa”. He is survived by many other family members and friends. Funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Joseph’s R. C. Church, Kings Park, NY. Interment followed at St. Charles Cemetery. If you would like to make a donation In Memory of  Jake R. Spadalik. Donations can be made to: Angela’s House, P.O. Box 5052  Hauppauge, NY 11788. http://www.angelashouse.org/shop/donations-in-memory-of-someone-special/ Arrangements entrusted to the professional care of Branch Funeral Home of Smithtown and Vigliante family. Online guest book at www.branchfh.com

Holiday Sing-Along In Kings Park With Musical Moments

Despite Sunday’s chilly mist weather more than 100 Kings Park residents came out to enjoy a holiday sing-along at Russ Savatt Park. Hot Chocolate, cookies and candy canes made the caroling even sweeter. The event was sponsored by Musical Moments in Kings Park. Photos by Dorothy Chanin