By Nick Buglione
These are just a few of the tragedies that have befallen the Fritzen family since they moved to East Meadow two years ago.
After buying their Cambridge Street home, Kellyjon Miranda-Fritzen, 36, husband Scott, 33, and son Ben, 8, seemed poised to carve out their little niche in that Norman Rockwell image of suburban existence so many young families yearn for. Life would be block parties and barbecues in the summer and snowmen and sleigh riding in the winter.
Then the roof caved in, literally and figuratively.
To say the past two years have been heavy on hardship would be an understatement. The Fritzens have spent thousands of dollars on repairs to their home, including a new roof and driveway, only to have it catch on fire.
Now suffering from a heart condition and acute leukemia, Kellyjon hasn't worked in months and is in danger of losing the vital health insurance that covers not only her but her husband and son as well. Meanwhile, Scott, who has suffered a stroke and was recently in a car accident that could have taken his life, hasn't worked in weeks.
With just $415 left in their bank account, no income and myriad bills to worry about, the Fritzens face a grim holiday season and can only hope they'll still be in their home after the New Year.
My son's a wreck, said Kellyjon, who cried intermittently during a lengthy interview with the Herald. Unless someone buys us a Christmas tree, it's not coming.
She and her husband even had to tell the youngster there's no such thing as Santa Claus, lest he think this Christmas is light on presents because he's been naughty.
My family has been helping us to the best of their ability, said Kellyjon, or K.J. as her friends call her. If it came to us losing our home, we would have a place to live. We've gone through so much.
The worst of times
Maybe they should have seen it coming, considering that the Fritzens' wave of horrible luck really began before they even moved to East Meadow. After selling their Island Park home in early 2001, the family was set to buy a house in Seaford until the seller pulled out of the deal, leaving them homeless for six months.
They eventually stumbled across what looked like a dream house on the market in East Meadow, and seized the opportunity. What I noticed is that the people around here are a lot nicer than the people in Island Park, she said. We made friends with all the neighbors right away. When we moved to this block, they came out to meet us. We were invited to barbecues every other week at different people's houses. It was kind of cool.
It didn't take long for their dream house to turn into a nightmare. Heavy rains flooded their driveway, and water began seeping into the house's foundation, causing the back of the basement to sink. It cost $6,500 to fix.
Just two months after they moved in, the toilet in what was supposed to be a brand new bathroom fell through the floor and into a crawl space, costing the Fritzens another $9,500. They considered suing the couple they bought the house from, but their attorney advised against it because the two had split up and were broke.
In September 2001 there was more crushing news. On Sept. 9, Kellyjon's aunt died. On Sept. 10, her grandmother died. After they returned home from her grandmother's funeral upstate -- where Ben, incidentally, broke his arm -- the Fritzens' roof started leaking profusely. It wasn't that the roof was just leaking, it was leaking badly for so long that the plywood was rotted, Kellyjon said. The repairs would cost around $7,800.
It might have seemed unthinkable at that point that the worst was yet to come in 2002, it was. At the beginning of the year, Ben, a student in McVey Elementary School, developed a condition in which he had difficulty swallowing certain foods, causing him to choke.
Once, while eating with his family at the Chinese buffet on Merrick Avenue, he began to choke so bad that he turned blue. It was very scary, Kellyjon recalled. The child is deathly afraid to eat now. If we give him meat or anything slightly chewy, he panics.
Months later, Kellyjon was diagnosed with a heart condition known as neurocardiogenic syncope, an affliction that causes her blood pressure to drop rather than rise when her heart rate increases. Even the slightest exertion made her pass out. I was hospitalized in Winthrop for a week and put on bed rest for three months, said Kellyjon, an employee with the state Department of Labor.
Kellyjon says that department employees aren't eligible for worker's compensation, disability or unemployment. In the three months she didn't work, she received leave and half pay, which is essentially time off and half her regular salary.
Shortly after she returned to work, the Fritzens' house was badly damaged in a grease fire that raged out of control. We lost the kitchen and part of the den, said Kellyjon, who was burned in the fire. As I tried to put the fire out with the fire extinguisher, it spread across the counters.
Though their insurance covered the damage, the contractor called in to restore the house did more bad than good, Kellyjon claims. We have a laundry list, like six feet long, of things that they broke and ruined, she said. Everything they touched broke. They managed to scratch every floor, break pieces of furniture. They threw things out that didn't need to be thrown out.
For four months, well over the 2 1/2 weeks the work was scheduled for, the Fritzens split their time between hotel rooms and a 3-by-10-foot space cordoned off in their home.
A month after the fire, Scott, who works as a meat deliverer, suffered a stroke and was in the hospital for two weeks. Though he would fully recover, he still has to take medicine to keep his blood pressure in check.
Meanwhile, a doctor-ordered checkup last May revealed serious abnormalities in Kellyjon's blood. She was referred to another doctor and realized the seriousness of her condition once her eyes hit the office sign reading oncologist. Kellyjon had cancer. She was floored. I had no idea, she said, doodling in a spiral notebook and trying unsuccessfully to fight back the tears. We had been through so much. How could we possibly go through this now?
In July and August Kellyjon was in the hospital, where she received 30 blood transfusions, underwent five operations and had a fever of 104.6 for two weeks. She hasn't been back to work and has since used up all her leave and half-pay time, so she no longer receives a check. While her cancer is in remission, doctors have told her she'll probably need a bone-marrow transplant, and none of her five siblings has turned out to be a match.
By early October, the Fritzens were behind on tax payments and needed money fast. Along with the help of businesses, local residents and their family, they managed to raise $4,200 in a garage sale to square their tax bills.
Things were just starting to look up when Scott was involved in a serious accident on the Long Island Expressway while working early Oct. 6. I was driving in the right-hand lane going into the city, and the guy lost control of his car, hit the middle divider and went straight at me, Scott said. I swerved and I hit the wall. After I hit the wall I lost control of the truck and it flipped.
Badly injuring his left arm, Scott is unable to work as well now. Compounding matters, Kellyjon is probably going to lose her medical benefits, which not only cover her but her husband and son, too, on Dec. 4 unless she can pay a premium of more than $700 each month.
As of Dec. 4 I'm no longer on the state's payroll, because my family medical leave has run out, she said. I won't lose my position until next July, because they hold your position for a year. But once your family medical leave is up, you come off payroll. And once you come off payroll, they are no longer required to carry my medical benefits.
Scott has applied for worker's compensation and Kellyjon is trying to get Social Security Insurance, but the two are currently mired in a sea of red tape. With just $415 in the bank and their mortgage, home equity, car and insurance bills looming, the Fritzens simply don't know what to do.
Help is on the way
Several community leaders, who learned of the Fritzens plight through the Herald, are already trying to lend a hand.
We need to get them in touch with some outreach program to get them a social worker, said Alan Hodish, president of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce and a member of the East Meadow Kiwanis. As far as making Christmas for the family, we'll guarantee that. If we have to reach into our own pockets, we'll do that.
Hodish has already put the Fritzens in touch with a lawyer to expedite their applications for worker's compensation and Social Security. He also said that Kiwanis and the chamber would help the family organize another garage sale fund-raiser.
The East Meadow Fire Department has volunteered to donate the use of its hall for any fund-raiser as well.
I'll see if there are any programs in the town that can be of assistance to them, said Hempstead Town Councilman Gary Hudes (R-Levittown), who persuaded a local deli to prepare and deliver Thanksgiving dinner to the Fritzens. I'll start looking into it.
Hudes also contacted the Nassau County Department of Social Services, and said the deputy commissioner would be contacting the family to go over various assistance programs they might be eligible for.
Help a family in need
Anyone interested in helping the Fritzens can call the family at (516) 542-6107, Alan Hodish at (516) 222-1640, or the East Meadow Herald at (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
