Hello to all, LAMA Tampa would like to invite and request your participation and support on our 6th Annual Heros Event to be held Saturday November 22nd in Tampas Clubhouse, 5019 Denver St Tampa from 12:00 to 5:00pm. This year all money raised will go to benefit the Stay in Step rehabilitation center founded by Romy Camargo and his wife Gabriela. Below please read Romys history,Stay in Step goals and why your participation in this event is so crucial. Thank you in advance to all. Hope to see you on the 22nd. Stay in Step Mission Romy & Gaby Camargo formed the non-profit Stay In Step Foundation in order to build and operate the Stay in Step Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center in Tampa, Florida. The center will provide intensive, long-term rehabilitation services to both military and civilian spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. ________________________________________ Romy & Gaby’s Story In Afghanistan nearly six years ago, Chief Warrant Officer Romulo Romy Camargo was leading his team of Green Berets on a humanitarian mission. Romy’s team came under heavy enemy fire. Leading from the front in the turret of his vehicle, Romy was organizing a response to the attack when he was shot in the neck. Romys team managed to save his life and evacuate him. Romy was flown to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C. Still fighting for his life, Romy was met by his young wife Gaby, who immediately stepped in as Romys greatest advocate and protector. After a nine hours intensive surgery to stabilize his neck, the extent of Romys injuries became clear. His C3 vertebrae was shattered and extracted during a surgery. As such, his breathing was tied to a respirator and he was paralyzed from the shoulders down. For most, this would have been the diagnosis of despair. But for the Camargos, this was the diagnosis that began a journey of hope, inspiration, faith, and a spirit of giving back. For the next year, Romy and Gaby struggled through more intense physical therapy, and more rehabilitation. After a month and a half at Walter Reed Medical Center, Romy and Gaby were transferred to the James A. Haley Hospital in Tampa, Florida, and its world-renowned spinal cord treatment center. It was there that Romy and Gaby met Dr. James Merritt, the now Senior Advisor to their efforts for Stay in Step. The Stay In Step SCI Recovery Center Working closely with Dr. Merritt and other health care providers, the Camargos never gave up. To this day, they stay focused on Romy eventually taking his first steps toward total recovery from his SCI injury. This dogged focus on recovery has enabled Romy to make many gains in recovery, including more autonomous breathing that many thought impossible. Their efforts also created tremendous knowledge of the SCI treatment and recovery environment. As Gaby describes it, This is my reality, and Romulos reality every day. We know it better than most anyone.” Driven by this focus on recovery and the knowledge that most local SCI patients didnt have rehabilitation options in the immediate Tampa area, Romy and Gaby decided to create the Stay in Step Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center. This non-profit center will be designed to provide state of the art recovery to SCI patients in the Tampa community and surrounding area. It will be open to both military and civilian SCI patients. Combining the technical and medical experience of Dr. Merritt and the Stay in Step staff, with real-time global collaboration with other SCI subject matter experts and patients, Stay in Step Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center will offer SCI patients real possibilities for taking a step toward recovery. ________________________________________ Romy and Gaby SCI Foundation Inc. d/b/a Stay In Step Foundation is a not-for profit corporation organized under Florida law. Stay In Step Foundation has applied for 501(c)(3) status from the Internal Revenue Service and anticipates being granted non-profit status as a charitable foundation in 2014. Fundraising Needs The funds needed to open and operate The Stay In Step SCI Recovery Center will be raised in three stages. Stage One is completed. We formally established Stay In Step Rehabilitation Center as a Non-Profit Organization. We have obtained our 501(c) (3) status from IRS. Stage Two we have raised more than $316,000.00. Our goal is to raise $750,000 to fully fund, open and operate the The Stay In Step SCI Recovery Center. In addition to hard equipment costs of approximately $150,000 for rehabilitation and exercise equipment, the funds will allow for the rental of sufficient space to house the facility, and to hire a Physical Therapist, three trainers and two aides. Stage Three will allow for ongoing fundraising through the web site (StayInStep.org) to establish a fund for patients who do not have insurance to cover the cost of the rehabilitation, as well as other charitable needs related to the foundation’s mission. ________________________________________ The Stay In Step Team Dr. John Merritt - Chief Medical Advisor. Former Director of the James Haley VA Hospital SCI Unit, Dr. Merritt has unrivaled experience and compassion in the arena of SCI injuries. He is involved in every aspect of the Stay In Step rehabilitation program design and execution. LtGen (R) USMC Martin Steele - Community Outreach and Fundraising. After a stellar military career in the United States Marines that culminated with being awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and the Distinguished Service Medal, General Steele became president and CEO of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City, the largest naval museum in the world. Currently, General Steele is the chairman and founder of Steele Partners, Inc. a strategic advisory and leadership consulting company. Additionally, he serves as the Executive Director, Military Partnerships at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL. LtCol (R) D. Scott Mann – Advisory Board Chairman. Spent his twenty-three year Army Special Forces Career involved in Foreign Internal Defense, Counter-insurgency and Stability Missions all over the world, and is now a successful entrepreneur and businessman who manages a multimillion-dollar real estate investment portfolio, and operates his own charitable foundation, Patriot Families. Kendall Almerico – Legal and Marketing Advisor. An attorney with 25 years of experience in a wide range of business matters including advising non-profit organizations, Almerico is also a marketing guru with two decades of media, public relations
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 01:05:58 +0000
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