Our Walter Reed Volunteer Story: Karel, Therese & Carol

Written by: Rose Ellen O’Connor, volunteer

Karel Fick’s son, an Air Force Captain, was stationed overseas, moving in and out of Afghanistan in 2005, and she was endlessly worried about him. She was used to the military – her father was a Navy Lieutenant who talked about his service in World War II and her husband served as an Army Lieutenant in Vietnam – but that didn’t help because this was her son. “It’s a mother’s job to worry,” she says. Karel was relieved and grateful when he came home safely and decided she wanted to help other military moms. So she turned to the Red Cross and started volunteering at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.

Therese Shell, Karel’s neighbor, heard her stories and decided she wanted to volunteer too. It was a good fit, she says, because her husband is a retired Navy Commander and her son is a Navy Lieutenant Commander.

Carol DeLeon wanted a change after 18 years as a volunteer in the White House correspondence department. A retired nurse, she wanted something in the health field and settled on Walter Reed.

Now all three women come together every Tuesday to try to make life a little more pleasant for the families of patients at Walter Reed. Their duties range from passing out basic needs items, such as clothing and toiletries, to asking hospital personnel for an update on a patient’s condition, to sitting and listening to a family member talk. They also hand out toiletries, give directions to local resources and explain how to get on the metro. If a family is in crisis, they’ll set up a room with snacks and water for them.

“Our goal is just to be soothing in a really stressful time,” says Karel. “We walk around the waiting room looking for families that might need a moral support. Usually, we let them talk and we tell them their patient is in the best place they could possibly be, you know, Walter Reed, and let them know we’re there if they need anything.”

Karel is the team leader for the Surgical Waiting Room and handles scheduling for all the volunteers. She works in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Carol, her co-team leader, helps with scheduling and works in the ICU, as well. Therese volunteers in the Surgical Waiting Room and brings in coffee and donuts every Tuesday. She also fills in for Karel or Carol if they can’t be in the ICU. “The coffee and donuts are a big hit,” Therese says. “I get that set up and everybody’s so happy to see it,” she says.

The volunteers can have a profound effect on a family. Last month, a retired Navy Commander was vacationing with his family in the Caribbean and had to be rushed to Walter Reed for emergency surgery. His wife and two adult sons followed him in. Karel was off and Therese was filling in for her. Carol and Therese brought sweat pants and sweat shirts for the family, along with toiletries. It was a no-brainer, they said.

“Coming from the Caribbean to this area in February was quite a shock,” Carol says. “We were making them a little more comfortable. They felt more secure that we were helping them.”

When the retired Navy Commander and his family left, they offered grateful praise for the volunteers specifically highlighting the ways in which they went out of their way to support their family, Marin Reynes, the Walter Reed volunteer supervisor says.

“Their feedback was solely focused on the Red Cross volunteers and the impact they had on their stay,” Marin says. “Karel, Carol and Therese may downplay their service, but they change lives every Tuesday.”

Sometimes things that seem so small can mean so much to the patients and family. The hospital is always dry, and patients and their family members are constantly looking for chap stick. Karel, Carol and Therese keep a ready supply.

“Somebody once said to me, you know handing out a chap stick or a comb or whatever is no big deal to you,” Karel says, “but to us it can make or break our day.”

Sometimes, the volunteers find themselves supporting family members in unusual and simple ways. A woman had been at her husband’s side for four days and hadn’t had a shower. Karel and Carol came to the rescue.

“We brought her some shampoo and conditioner and nice-smelling soap and then we found a social worker who found her a place to go take a bath,” Karel recalls. “And, boy, she felt fabulous.”

Volunteering can bring them to moments they treasure but never would have expected. Once the Pediatric ICU was looking for volunteers to hold a baby that had been removed from his home. He was very under-developed and needed to be held to learn how to form a bond. Karel and Carol were intrigued. They put on hospital gowns and masks and held the baby.

“He was very responsive,” Karel says. “It made us feel good. I mean we might have helped him make some pathways in his brain. He was too insecure to actually smile but he was getting there. The good news is he went home with his family and hopefully lives happily ever after.”

The volunteers constantly look for ways to connect with family members. A wounded soldier came into the hospital and was nonresponsive. His mother was with him all the time. So Karel and Carol started visiting her. Karel asked where she was from and the mom said Riverside, CA. Karel had lived in Orange County, CA. “We made a connection there and we would talk about California. That gave her comfort – something she could relate to.”

The son eventually came around and was discharged.

“By the time he left here, he was awake. He would look at us and smile,” Karel says. “So that was another happy ending.”

Therese tries to make connections with family members in the Surgical Waiting Room. They’re often agitated and the hours drag on as they wait for word of their loved one. She calls and gets updates for them and then just sits with them and tries to calm them. She tells them that scheduled surgeries sometimes get bumped by emergencies and that could explain the wait.

“We just like to feel that we’re soothing and taking some of the intrigue and worry away,” Therese says.

Karel and Carol take a similar approach in the ICU waiting room. A soldier was medevacked from Afghanistan to Walter Reed and his mother was waiting for him. She was distraught and they just sat with her and listened.

“Some people just need to talk, so we sat with her for quite a while,” Karel recalls. “And when we were getting up to leave she hugged us both and said thank you so much. That really touched me.”

Karel lives with her husband Robert and her cat Chessie in Gaithersburg, MD. She has two sons, Scott and Alex, and one grandchildren.

Carol lives with her husband, Leonardo, in Silver Spring, MD. She has four sons, Leo, Michael, Paul and Matthew, and five grandchildren.

Therese lives with her husband Mark in Gaithersburg, MD. She has two sons and a daughter, Jason, Justin and Christie, and three grandchildren with a fourth on the way.

My Red Cross Volunteer Story: Susan Saslow

Susan Saslow has volunteered several times a month as a Blood Donor Ambassador in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties in Virginia since 2007. Susan is the one to call on in a pinch for a drive in her area, and is very flexible and reliable! In January 2017, Susan took on the additional responsibility of training other Blood Donor Ambassadors in her area.

A retired Oncology Nurse, Susan has lived in Oak Hill, VA since 1988 with her husband. She has one daughter and three cats. Susan enjoys spending time with her extended family, many of whom live in the DC area, and watching college and professional sports. She also enjoys quilting and exercises every day!

When she was working, Susan volunteered with the American Cancer Society on the Professional Education Committee, where she spoke at nursing conferences and presented continuing education programs regarding oncology.

After multiple spinal surgeries, Susan realized she would not be able to return to work and decided to start volunteering with the American Red Cross.

“The reason I thought of the Red Cross was because of their stellar reputation and my experience with oncology patients and families needing blood products,” she says.

Please join us in congratulating Susan Saslow – Greater Chesapeake & Potomac Blood Services Region's Volunteer of the Month for November 2017!

My Red Cross Volunteer Story: Joe Cattaneo

Carrying on a Century-Long Family Tradition Volunteering for the Red Cross

By Clarice Nassif Ransom, Volunteer

Volunteer: Joe Cattaneo

Resides: McLean, Virginia

Profession: Retired President of the Glass Packaging Institute and part-time consultant

Length of Volunteer Service: 3 years and counting

Length of Employment with the American Red Cross: 12 years, early in his career

Joe Cattaneo is carrying on a century-long family tradition of volunteering for the Red Cross, which dates back to World War I and spans two nations, the United States and Italy.

Joe’s maternal grandmother served as a volunteer for the Red Cross during World War I in Italy and Joe’s mother followed in those footsteps, serving as a volunteer during World War II, in Italy.  She married Joe’s American father in Rome and settled down in St Louis, Missouri.

“I was influenced by my mother to donate my time to help others in need, as she did so in words and by her actions working for the Visiting Nurses Association late in life,” said Joe.

Some of Joe’s fondest keepsakes are his grandmother’s Red Cross identification card from Italy and a Red Cross celebrity cookbook, which has recipes from celebrated actors from the early 1900’s, such as Al Jolson, Harry Houdini, Douglas Fairbanks, Lillian Russell, Mary Pickford, and Sophie Tucker. The cookbook was dedicated to the American Red Cross and the Actor’s Fund. Joe thinks the proceeds of the cookbook went to both organizations. The cookbook was acquired by Joe’s great uncle, who was a mess sergeant during World War I. Joe inherited the cookbook from his great uncle, who kept it in a special chest along with military medals and memorabilia.

So, Joe could not help but step up and be part of the American Red Cross organization, first, as a part-time employee in college during the Vietnam War era, later as a full-time employee, and now, as a volunteer, post-retirement.

“I started working part-time for the American Red Cross when I was in college,” says Joe. “The father of one of my fraternity brothers was the Assistant Director of the Service to Military Families Department at the St. Louis Bi-State Chapter. At that time, during the Vietnam War, I started doing casework – interviewing local families of military personnel stationed overseas and helping them to learn how to handle a budget and live without a spouse. Sometimes, we would deliver messages to service members from their families, such as the birth of a baby or an illness of a family member.”

Joe eventually landed a full-time permanent job with the American Red Cross where he worked for 12 years in three states – Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ohio, doing everything from serving as a field representative, to chapter management, and deputy division manager.

“Some of my most memorable times working for the American Red Cross was when I was a field representative in Illinois,” said Joe. “I worked statewide with various small chapters and organizations. I would speak about the Red Cross at various functions such as the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs and conduct audits of different chapters. I remember that one small chapter kept all their financial records in a shoe box – of course, this was all before computers.”

Joe also reminisced about the people whose lives he was able to touch working for the Red Cross.

“During the post-Vietnam era, refugees were relocating to the United States, many settling first at military installations before assimilating into communities. The American Red Cross would offer night courses to teach the refugees English. We also provided job placement for them. I even hosted a party at my apartment where we had folks attend not only from Vietnam, but also from Korea, Cambodia, and Eastern Europe. Everyone brought a dish from their homeland and it was a delicious potluck. One of the fellows was a tailor and made me a suit as a gift.”

Joe then became a Red Cross chapter manager in Wisconsin, where he was a community leader, promoting the Red Cross.

“I had a monthly radio show,” said Joe. “I would talk about blood drives and their locations, swimming and safety courses we were offering, and I would recruit volunteers. It was a great way to promote the Red Cross.”

After leaving the Red Cross as an employee, Joe became a partner in an Ohio advertising firm for nine years, then moved to the Washington, D.C. area to become Vice President of Marketing for the Glass Packaging Institute, one of his former clients, and eventually President of the Glass Packaging Institute where he retired in 2012, after a 20-year career with the trade association.

“I was looking at doing something on a voluntary basis for my community after I retired, so I contacted the American Red Cross in Fairfax,” said Joe. “I started volunteering as a Community Leader for the Red Cross, representing the Red Cross at exhibits and attending various community meetings and fundraising activities. I was then referred to be the head of volunteer services to participate on their volunteer intake screening team. In volunteer intake, we screen people who are interested in volunteering – we are sort of like matchmakers. We gauge their level of interest, and what they want to do, and find them volunteer opportunities that fit their backgrounds and our needs.”

In January alone, there were 400 volunteer applicants for the Red Cross in the National Capital Region that needed to be screened for the right volunteer opportunity. The time commitment is flexible and the ways to help out are endless – from blood donor services, to disaster relief, to community engagement, to a home fire campaign, to helping out at military hospitals and installations. Their volunteer opportunities are endless.

“We always welcome volunteers,” said Joe. “For me, volunteering for the American Red Cross completes my life as it is now. When I do this, I feel active. I get to interact with young like-minded people, and I look forward to it every day. It is not like a job, that can sometimes get tedious. There is always someone to help, someone whose life you can make better helping through volunteer service.”

When Joe is not volunteering for the American Red Cross, he is helping out many other organizations, including heading up a food bank, helping to tutor kids, and providing help for the homeless. He is also a music aficionado who once played piano, trumpet, guitar, and was in a band in high school. He also enjoys symphonies, operas, theater and sports.

“I am a St. Louis Cardinal fan forever,” concluded Joe.

My Red Cross Volunteer Story: Suzanne Bucci, RN

Suzanne Bucci, RN, OB/Gyn NP, and Red Cross Volunteer, served as a nurse in the US Air Force Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine (AIM) Center at Joint Base-Andrews, MD. She is an Army veteran, the wife of a retired Army officer, and the mother of two adult children, one of which has served in the Army. She has been a Red Cross volunteer for the past 15 years. Mrs. Bucci has volunteered in the local communities where she and her husband were located since she separated from the Army. She is an expert nurse with a compassionate heart.

As a devoted wife and mother, she continued to share her nursing talents with the community as a volunteer. While traveling with her husband to foreign countries for his work position, she provided healthcare as an OB/Gyn nurse practitioner with limited resources to women and children in Albania during a critical time in that nation’s history. With the heart of a teacher, she taught Albanian nurses how to care for pregnant women and the children.

When she returned to the United States, she chose to help the “nation’s finest” in the Pentagon. The first day she volunteered was September 11, 2001. She was in the Pentagon during the attack. Before receiving orientation, she provided care to the wounded without knowing where any supplies or equipment was located. Dust and debris contributed to the confusion; but she was focused on providing care. That is the type of person she is, she sees a need and fills that need.

Her work in the AIM Center was carried over from the Pentagon Flight Medicine Clinic where she excelled to provide advanced acupuncture and other alternative modalities to patients. Along with physician acupuncturists, she delivered a unique approach to providing patient treatments that included acupuncture and integrative medicine techniques for a wide variety of conditions, such as chronic pain, smoking cessation, musculoskeletal conditions, mental health conditions, and so much more. This type of care has never been defined for nursing practice. She created a unique niche for nurses in this clinic by learning specific electric modalities and was a perpetual student of the acupuncture art and now has become THE expert in these pain relief techniques. She served professionally as an educator, counselor, and nurse in our high-volume center - always taking a moment for those needing a shoulder to lean on or a hug for support.

She has trained several physicians, Uniformed Services University medical students, nurses, and medical technicians. As a valued volunteer she was asked to teach very specific electric modality techniques at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. They appreciated her teaching style using the hands-on approach. Mrs. Bucci has, without a doubt, influenced the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Mrs. Bucci connects with patients on a personal level helping them understand their medical condition and teaching them how to improve or manage their condition. She makes accommodations for people to come when convenient for their schedule. She has outstanding energy and enthusiasm each day, as she comforted, consoled and cared for the war wounded, tired, and traumatized clients. She truly exemplifies the mission and spirit of the American Red Cross.

Nurses have been vital to the work of the American Red Cross since 1888. Today, more than 15,000 of your fellow nurses are involved in providing disaster services, teaching and developing courses, managing blood drives and other leadership roles throughout our organization. Learn more about how you can get involved with the Red Cross.