Letter to the Editor

So let me tell you about why I became an even bigger supporter of our State Representative Jim Gregory. When the pandemic started and everything shut down, this included the Hollidaysburg Veterans’ Home where my dad resides. My dad, a veteran of the Vietnam War, a Marine and later an Army Reservist, unfortunately suffered 5 strokes leaving him with left side paralysis and cognitive deficits. I received a call from my dad’s social worker at the VA early March of 2020 that informed me I could no longer visit my dad, my four children could no longer visit their pappy, my husband could not see his father in law and my dad’s fiancé couldn’t see her best friend, all as a result of COVID.

To say I was shocked and devastated is an understatement. When I asked when we could visit, nobody had an answer. As time passed, we waited patiently for a call that said we could see him, but that call never came. Many months went by, then a year, and another month and another. My children were heartbroken; we all were. It affected our daily lives in so many ways. My dad was declining, he was depressed, bored and lonely. He missed his family, a family that pre-COVID visited daily, took him on outings, spent every holiday/birthday with him at my home, a family he loves and a family that loves him.

Other nursing homes had opened up visits months ago but no word from the Hollidaysburg Veterans’ Home ever came, nothing good anyway. They did “open” for a day or two a couple of times but until you could schedule a visit (only three slots per day were available), they would be closed again because a staff member in another building tested positive, so the entire facility was shut down for visits for 15 days and no positive cases could occur during that time. If there was a positive case, which there always was, the 15 days started again, so visits didn’t happen.

When my children didn’t see their pappy and I didn’t see my dad for over a year, I didn’t know what to do but I knew I had to do something. I reached out to anyone and everyone from newspapers, state senators, bloggers, television stations, the head of the veterans’ homes and numerous others with no help.

For most of them, I did not even receive a response, except for State Rep. Jim Gregory. He not only responded to my Facebook message cry for help, he asked if it was okay to contact me, and when he did, he wanted to know the details of my story. When I informed him of how long the Hollidaysburg Veterans’ Home had been closed for visits, the details of the rules of their “opening” and how this was affecting my dad, my children and myself, he didn’t hesitate. He was more than ready to help.

Within a few weeks of receiving help from State Representative Jim Gregory, visits resumed at the Hollidaysburg Veterans’ Home with strict precautions, which was fine. They also did away with their ridiculous rules of closing the entire facility with one positive case.

When I told my 4 children they could visit their pappy, the happiness they had was beyond description. When my children and I began our visits, the tears wouldn’t stop flowing. When you see a loved one you were restricted from seeing for 15 months, the feelings are overwhelming.

Jim Gregory did not forget us. He still checks in to see how things are and reminds me he is there if I ever need anything again. Yes, he is a politician but he is more than that. He is a man that is there as a voice for the people of his district. But to me and my family, he will always be a hero!

We need someone like Jim Gregory to remain in office for another two years to be our voice, to care and to help us. He not only has my respect, he has my vote on May 17!

Go out and vote for a true man of the people!

Shannon Snyder

Duncansville