A New Way to Help the Brain Injury Cause"In the final analysis, the question of why bad things happen to good people translates itself into some very different questions, no longer asking why something happened, but asking how we will respond, what we intend to do now that is has happened."
From When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold W. Kushner
From the TBI Challenge, June 1998
This article is about a good person that had a bad thing happen to her and how a family responded to a tragedy that forever changed their lives. It offers a concrete way to help individuals with brain injury, their families, friends and acquaintances, by making a difference in their lives today.
Devoted daughter of Lois, loving sister of Katie, caring, tender and earnest wife to Gary, singularly successful mother of Matt and Molly, capable school teacher to numerous four-year old children, spiritually mature Christian and church member, a true friend that touched the lives of many people.
All of those words describe one woman, Lynn A. Chiaverotti. But can a person ever be described by words? Can that one paragraph truly sum up the life of such a wonderful woman? Do those words describe what she was really like inside? Does that description capture the essence of Lynn as a human being? The truth is that mere words cannot explain the tragic circumstances that cut Lynnís life so terribly short or explain how deeply her passing away affected the people she was close to.
If you had asked her, Lynn was just a normal person living her life as best as she could. If you ask those who knew her, or even knew of her, you will get a completely different answer. For one thing, Lynn always had time -- time for the Cub Scouts or Brownies, for the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, for a lonely Navy wife, for Meals on Wheels, for Navy Family Services, for a neighbor in need or a person who merely wanted to talk. Her life was filled with giving and sharing of herself as a wife, mother of two children, neighbor, preschool and special education teacher and friend.
"Lynn was the world's greatest investment," says Cindy Sweeney a long-time friend who met Lynn when the two women were waiting for their children outside a preschool in Mayport, Florida. "If she borrowed a cup of sugar from you, you got two back. With Lynn, you always came out ahead. One day I called from work and told her 'I'm stuck. Can you let the kids know?' When I got home, the kitchen was clean, the table set with dinner and Lynn was gone."
Things changed drastically for the Chiaverotti family in October of 1995. Lynnís husband Gary, a Captain in the U.S. Navy had just been transferred to Singapore and his family accompanied him on the overseas tour. The Chiaverotti's had just moved into their home after a two-month wait for their household goods shipment when tragedy struck. On her way to pick up daughter Molly from school, Lynn's vehicle was hit by a bus at an intersection.
Exactly how and what happened will never be known. The Chiaverotti family will also never be able to answer the question why it happened. But as a result of this motor vehicle collision, Lynn sustained a major brain injury and remained in a coma for about three weeks. After spending two months in intensive care, she was transferred to a regular ward. Although Lynn remained hospitalized, she underwent extensive physical therapy and rehabilitation. She was then transferred into a rehabilitation ward of hospital until she was medically stable and able to be transported to the United States.
By all accounts, the medical care Lynn received was not as aggressive or comprehensive as the treatment she would have received in the United States. Coupled with the lack of information and knowledge that Gary was faced with as he strove to make informed decisions about his wife's care, the two conditions resulted in a loss of critical treatment time.
Returning to the United States in March of 1996, Lynn spent the next seven months in intensive therapy at both hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. She was finally making small, but significant progress -- but it was not enough. After a valiant 11-month fight against nearly insurmountable odds, Lynn succumbed to her brain injury and passed away on September 19, 1996. Lynn was 45 years old; she and Gary had been married for 20 years.
Unlike many similar stories, Lynn's saga did not end with her death. Inspired by Lynn's creative gifts and unforgettable spirit, her family and friends searched for a way to ensure that Lynn's positive energy, unassuming friendship, unqualified love, giving nature and the very essence of her spirit would always be remembered. In short, they were looking for some way to allow Lynn to continue to assist and inspire others as she had so often done while she lived. In 1997, they found just such a way.
The Lynn A. Chiaverotti Memorial Fund was started in November 1997. This unique fund is committed to helping individuals with brain injury, family members and friends obtain community-based services and information to aid them in the healing and recovery process. Because of the problems Gary was faced with while stationed overseas, it is dedicated especially to helping military families who are often far from home and family support. The money donated in Lynn's memory will become what is known as the principle of the fund. The interest and other monies generated by this principle will be used to support brain injury awareness, education and advocacy. As the Fund expands with each donation, its goals will also be able to expand.
Gary is still on active duty with the U.S. Navy and currently living in Norfolk, Virginia. In cooperation with the Brain Injury Association, he is working to ensure that information about Lynn's Memorial Fund and available support resources and services are readily accessible to military families. Lynn and Gary's children are busy pursuing educational goals--Matt is a freshman at the University of Maine and Molly is a freshman at Maury High School in Norfolk, VA.
