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|  Fairlawn Staff Showers Family With Love and Support It wasn't the usual setting for a baby shower. But the first-floor therapeutic gymnasium at Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital suited Myrvet and Artur Yskollari just fine. So did the countless expressions of love and support from Fairlawn employees who gathered to help the couple prepare for the upcoming birth of their baby daughter.
Then, in March, six months after she learned a new child would join their family, Myrvet began experiencing progressive numbness in her arms and legs. Diagnosed with brainstem encephalitis, within days the 39-year-old expectant mother was unable to move, speak, or breathe on her own. Following a two-week stay at UMass Memorial Medical Center, she was transferred to Fairlawn, where she began intensive rehabilitation to improve her strength and mobility. "I just want to get up, be able to walk and care for myself and my family," said Myrvet, finishing an occupational therapy session at Fairlawn. Then, with the aid of a walker, she headed down the hall for the surprise celebration. Greeted by more than 30 Fairlawn employees, she stopped briefly at the door, silently smiled, and made her way through the gift-filled gymnasium to a wheelchair set beneath a clothesline strung with baby clothes. For the next two hours, as she opened packages and quietly reveled in her first baby shower, Myrvet Yskollari periodically stopped to express her gratitude. "Thank you very much," she repeated throughout the afternoon. "God bless you all." According to Fairlawn staffers, it was that unassuming appreciation that led to the celebration. "They're a beautiful family. They never ask for or expect anything," said Paula Auerbach, Myrvet's case manager at Fairlawn. "Myrvet has worked so hard, and we wanted to make sure they had everything they needed for their new baby daughter." | |||||||||
