VIDEO: Hattie’s Story: Assistance helps family following surgery

Watch Hattie’s Story

Our daughter, Hattie, was born February 15, 2019 with trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) along with a heart defect. Her particular defect is known as a complete balanced Atrioventricular (AV) canal defect. This would require open-heart surgery at three months old. On May 21, 2019, Hattie underwent surgery at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital.

Overall, the surgery went well. It was a very long day because the surgery took a total of about 12 hours, so we were glad to see her after. Her recovery, however, is where we hit a lot of speed bumps. Our hospital stay ended up being over six weeks long and they originally estimated a 5-10 day recovery. She ended up going in for two more procedures, a Heart Catheterization to inspect the repair that was made and a Gastrostomy feeding tube (G-tube) placement surgery. These were performed to assist on her road to recovery.

We cannot thank the Anderson Assistance Foundation enough for their donation to our family. Because of it, we were able to spend over a week in a hotel. Living and sleeping in a hospital room can take a toll on you mentally and physically. Having this escape at night was just the thing we needed to be able to reset as parents from the long days in the hospital.

Hattie has been home for a few months now and is thriving. She is smiling and laughing every day. She has been an amazing first child for us and we couldn’t ask for a sweeter daughter. Thank you to everyone that has kept us in their thoughts and prayers.

Thank you again Anderson Assistance Foundation!

We appreciate it more than words!

Tim, Ashley & Baby Hattie

Foundation helps cover living expenses following hardship

It was a normal commute to work for ATS Shop Employee Tom S. and his girlfriend Haley F., also an ATS Employee. That was until they were approaching a stop sign, when suddenly Tom had a seizure.

When he initially came to, he was in a significant amount of pain, leading to him falling in and out of consciousness several more times. When he finally stayed conscious for a while, he learned he broke five vertebrae from the neck down and broke both of his shoulders. Tom needed a spinal fusion to repair the damage done by his seizure.

The injury caused Tom to miss time at work, leading to one less paycheck to cover the costs at home. While Tom had heard of the Anderson Assistance Foundation (the Foundation), he didn’t think his injury fit the criteria. Luckily, Haley did. She applied on Tom’s behalf, which led to the Foundation covering a portion of their living expenses to help them through the hardship.

“I was really grateful,” Tom said. “It helped us so much.”

Tom said the doctor told him he wouldn’t be able to do manual labor for the foreseeable future, which was a key part of his job. That’s why he said the assistance from the Foundation meant so much.

“Something that may seem so small to the Foundation was really big for us,” Tom said.

Assisting with rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Florence

Not long after Hurricane Florence passed through the Carolinas, ATS Driver Collis S. returned to his home to find water leaking through his ceilings after the wind blew several shingles off his roof. He did what most would do in a situation like that and contacted his insurance company, however they could only cover so much. He then reached out to ATS, who helped cover more of the cost to repair the damage.

“They came through like a champion,” Collis said. “They look out for their people.”

Collis said he loves working for a company like ATS and would have said the same thing even before receiving help.

“They’re really concerned about their employees,” Collis said. “They go out of their way to make sure your family is alright when you’re on the road.”

Helping rebuild after Thanksgiving house fire

It was just two days before Thanksgiving 2018 when ATS Vans Driver James V.’s house went up in flames. It was determined the home was a total loss along with many of the belongings inside it.

James was fortunate enough to have shelter while working to find a new home, staying with his mother. Once that new home was ready, however, he needed to replace the belongings to go inside it. That was when the Anderson family stepped in. They told James to pick out whatever bed he wanted and they would take care of it.

“This was the first company I’ve ever been with that stepped up like this,” James said.

James has been settled into his new home for a couple months now and thanks the Anderson Family of Companies for helping him handle some of the burden of starting over.

“They treat me more or less like family.”