Helping Hands; Angels Identified
We received a call that our elderly mother, Kathleen Saito, was in the hospital. That morning she had gone shopping at Walmart at Keeaumoku Street and was walking back home when she blacked out near Sheridan Park in Makiki. Our mother suffered a mild stroke about seven years ago and needs to use a cane when she walks. When she blacked out, she must have fallen backward and hit her head on the ground. She suffered a gash to the back of her head. Luckily, a good Samaritan came to her assistance and called 911 and stayed with her until the ambulance arrived. Our mother regained consciousness in the emergency room at Queen’s. She does not remember anything from the time she blacked out at Sheridan Park to being awakened in the emergency room.
We feel so blessed that the good Samaritan was there in our mother’s time of need. We do not know the name of this special guardian angel, but we wish to thank them and let them know that we are so very grateful for being with her until the help arrived. May your life be filled with many blessings.
Warren and Rodney Saito
Manoa
Dear Warren and Rodney, “Our EMS personnel who assisted Mrs. Saito were Makiki EMS unit supervisor Ben
Takemura, paramedic Mario Fuentes, and EMT Kit Ho,” says chief Norman Hahn. “They are very grateful that they left a positive impression on the Saitos and are very happy to hear that Mrs. Saito is on the road to recovery. They also are very appreciative that the Saitos took the time to write this letter of appreciation.”
Dear Pamela, I love your column in MidWeek!
In an earlier column, the Walkers of Kaelepulu gave generous APPLAUSE to a group of unknown volunteers who painted over graffiti on the Keolu skateboard walls. I know who the “mahalo plenty” should go to: Malia Gray and her ohana. And I send them my appreciation and gratitude, too.
Elizabeth Kent
Enchanted Lake
Dear Elizabeth, While we’re passing on the APPLAUSE, Malia Gray gives hers to her husband.
“He started this in refusing to raise our keiki among this action,” she says. “Along with the usual taggers, we’ve seen graphic images and too much negative, vulgar language. We can’t just tell our kids how bad it is; we need to teach them how to take action. Thus, our children have taken on this project in learning stewardship. Our group effort is called My Community, Our Kuleana. The kids have asked businesses for sponsorships and recruited volunteers in our community to do the work. The goal is to accumulate enough volunteer hours to achieve a community leadership grant from Castle Foundation so we can be self-sustaining for the next few years. Meleana Gray, my daughter, partnered with Zion Kaauwai and Luke Faurot, all 11 years old. Every month we go out and paint out, and there are now painters who want to help us too … Awesome!!”
