MedStar Gives Fort Worth Parkinson's Patient Ride Home For Thanksgiving
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Just days ago going home for Thanksgiving seemed unlikely for Edward Brauner.
The 86-year-old said he had come to grips with knowing his day would likely be spent inside his room at a Fort Worth nursing home.
"I can't get out at all," Brauner explained. "I'm kind of behind the fence."
For the past seven months, Brauner has been unable to leave the nursing home as his Parkinson's disease has taken a turn for the worse.
"It's a neurological disaster," Brauner said, "but you can't change the way it is."
However, on Thursday morning rolling up to his room at Stonegate Nursing Center came the help he needed to leave.
Two MedStar paramedics loaded Brauner onto a stretcher and then into an ambulance.
Brauner has had his share of ambulance rides in the past year, but Thursday's destination was not the hospital. Brauner would be going to his son's home for Thanksgiving dinner.
For the seventh year, MedStar provided transportation and medical care free of charge for patients who would normally not be able to have a holiday dinner outside a nursing home or hospital.
Brauner's daughter-in-law, Dani Reed, said, "It's been a whirlwind year of bad health decline, but having him home for the holidays is a very nice experience."
Sitting with his two grandchildren nearby, Brauner replied with a smile, "No question about it. This is a winner right here."
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