When life throws up roadblocks, you just keep on truckin'
| Friday, May 29 2009 05:27 PM
Last Updated Friday, May 29 2009 05:27 PM
Sandy Oliver's world is shrinking as well as expanding. There may be universes like that, and if there are, hers could be one.
Shrinking because Sandy, 58, has ALS. She was diagnosed April 1, 2004. Sandy, her husband, Kenny, and their three adult children, Kari, Sara, and Matt, only wished it had been an April Fool's joke.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, commonly paralyzes patients while their minds remain untouched. The survival rate is usually two to five years. There are approximately 5,600 new cases diagnosed every year.
So what did the Olivers, who have three grown children, do when confronted with the diagnosis? They decided to keep on truckin' -- literally. And with the generous response from RV Buddies, an online group of RV enthusiasts, they're doing it in style.
In 2006, the Olivers, who love to travel, decided to remodel their 40-foot Gulf Stream. They installed a chair lift, opened the floor plan to make it accessible for Oliver's wheelchair, modified the vehicle's bathroom, installed numerous hand rails and audio jacks for her PC speech software (many ALS patients lose the ability to speak).
RV Buddies heard about the Olivers and had the RV painted (Dupont, D'Angelos and Final Coach Works contributed too).
"It's like a home makeover," Kenny said.
The Olivers will receive their retrofitted RV at 2 p.m., today at Buck Owens' Crystal Palace. RV Buddies is filming the event and is planning to air the Olivers' story later on PBS.
"Now, I am able to travel," said Oliver, who has raised more than $65,000 for the ALS cause over the last few years. "With the lift for my power chair, Kenny will no longer have to lift and push me in. I know it will take a huge burden off him. To be able to get in the shower with little assistance will be absolute heaven."
For Sandy, a former mortgage branch manager, and Kenny, 51, it's always been important to live their life on their own terms and to never, ever become a burden to their three children.
"When they first got her diagnosis, Sandy's response was 'This is no pity party," stated a press release from the ALS Association.
"They had a family meeting and told the kids to continue with their lives - get married, have children, travel and begin their careers."
And so the Olivers, married 30 years in August, are going to hit the road, Jack. Take their grandsons on camping trips, visit the Grand Canyon with friends and then later take a trip with the family to Salinas to watch the Blue Angels.
They're planning an adventure on the northern route of the United States, ending on the southern East Coast. For someone who can't move, Oliver will be moving around the country pretty well.
Falling in the admirable category is her husband, who retired from Aera Energy LLC last year.
"Through Sandy's strength, I have gained strength," he said, when asked how he kept it together.
That about says it all. What it doesn't say may be revealed on the open road in the years to come.
***
During the filming at the Olivers' home in Rosedale, the producers from RV Buddies were interviewing the Olivers' children. The interview became emotional and even the cameraman had to excuse himself.
"I have to take a break," he said.
With that, he walked outside and called his mother, whom he had not spoken to in years.
"That's the good part of this disease," Kenny said. "It makes you stop and take inventory."
