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Lions Club collecting donations for burn victim
By Jim Gibbs
jgibbs@acnpapers.com
The Southlake Lions Club saw a need and, like Lions all over the world, was ready to help.
Dallas Wiens, the recipient of the world’s first face transplant, spoke at the club earlier this year and Southlake Lion’s Club President Ann Swindell said that members were so moved that they immediately wanted to do a fundraiser for Wiens so that he could get a guide dog.
Wiens as our guest at a club meeting recently, only days after yet
another reconstructive surgery in Boston,” Swindell said. “ He's such an amazing young
man with an incredible spirit and a positive attitude about life that
can teach us all so much. After meeting and listening to him, I was
impressed with how he wants to move forward and onward rather than
dwelling on his terrible accident. Watching Dallas interact with
Tammy, our blind Lions Club Leader Dog representative, and meet her
dog, was inspiring beyond words. We are so supportive, as Lions, to
help Dallas achieve even more independence with a Leader Dog of his
own."
Registration for the "Ride for the Blind" will start at 8:30 a.m. on
Saturday, Oct. 1 at Pieter Andries Jewelers on Southlake Boulevard in Southlake and end at Adam Smith's Harley Davidson in Bedford. The registration cost for each rider is $20. Tickets can be purchased by going to the website www.southlakelions.com or calling 817-562-5153. Tickets can also be purchased from Southlake Lions Club members.
Riders can register at the above website or call the number listed above. Food, beverages, and prizes will be provided at Adam Smith's and are included in the registration fee. Expected "kickstand up" time is 10 am on Oct. 1.
Also, the first 200 riders to register will get patches.
The Lions Club will also be raffling off a brand-new Harley Davidson motorcycle. Tickets are $50 each or you can get three for $100.
Created in 1939 by three Detroit-area Lions Clubs, Leader Dogs for the Blind provides trained guide dogs for blind and visually impaired people to enhance their mobility, independence and quality of life. Each year, more than 270 people attend the 26-day residential training program to be paired with a guide dog.
Preservation and restoration of sight has been a primary focus of Lions Clubs for many years. Lions collect used eyeglasses and distribute them around the world to people unable to afford the cost of eyeglasses. Lions provide medications to prevent river blindness in equatorial countries. Lions also support low-cost cataract surgeries for the poor around the world.
Wiens, a Fort Worth resident, suffered horrific burns in November 2008 when the left side of his head came in contact with a high-voltage electric power line while he was maneuvering a cherry-picker lift. He was airlifted to Parkland Hospital where he was admitted to the Burn Critical Care Unit. Doctors did not think he would survive. Survive he did, and he went on to receive the nation’s first full face transplant at Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston.
Wiens underwent a 15-hour surgery involving 30 specialists to receive the transplant; the transplanted tissue was donated anonymously. He received a new face from mid-scalp to his neck. He is now able to talk with some difficulty and is able to take food and drinks through his mouth. His left eye has been removed but doctors are hopeful vision can be restored in his right eye through technology or an eye transplant. He lost his teeth in the accident and hopes to eventually get implants. The American Academy of Plastic Surgeons voted Wiens The Greatest Save of 2009.
His young daughter, Scarlette, is happy that she still has her dad; when Scarlette was able to recognize him after the transplant surgery, Wiens said he cried. His mind is alert, and he is actively participating in the management of his many medications and treatments. You can follow Wiens’s story at www.dallaswiens.com.
Lion Ann Swindell is president of the Southlake Lions Club, and can be contacted at 817-562-5153 or ann.swindell@yahoo.com. The club meets on the first and third Fridays of each month at the Southlake DPS office on State Street at 7 a.m.
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