By CHRISTINA TROIANO
Christine Andre, the mother of a child with Cerebral Palsy, was given a $2500 check recently by the North Bellmore Fire Department which each year holds a fund-raising golf tourney and donates the money to someone needy.
Ms. Andre, whose 11-year old daughter, Ashley, has suffered from birth with a paralysis caused by a brain lesion, accepted the check at an event held at Runyon's Roadside Tavern in East Meadow.
"I am glad that they picked someone local and it gives me great pleasure to present Christine with this award, said Firefighter Rick Wallis, who presented the check to Ms. Andre."
Ashley, who is mentally fine and a student in regular academic classes, suffers with disabling muscle problems in her legs. She has recently undergone another major surgery and spent over six weeks in rehabilitation.
This year's golf tournament was held on Monday, July 24 at Eisenhower Park. Members of the fire department as well as organizers of the tournament include Chief Bob Bazarewski, Supervisor Bill Riely, and Commissioner of the tournament Angelo Catalano, co-chairman of the tournament, Jim Richards, Rick Wallis, John Bradley, and Pete McCarthy.
The firefighters chose to donate the money raised this year to Christine Andre, who works as a waitress and manager at Runyon's some evenings. The Andres currently live in an apartment but have had to move five times in the last four years because rents are so expensive, she says.
According to Ms. Andre, Ashley was born three months prematurely in 1989. During the delivery, Ms. Andre says, she was put in a regular labor room with no oxygen or resuscitator equipment, despite that the birth was coming early.
Ms. Andre later sued the doctor for lack of judgement because it should have been obvious, she says, that the baby would need special care
The legal battle, has gone on since 1992. Two years ago, Ms. Andre says, the jury ruled in her favor and awarded Ashley a large sum of money. When the doctor sought a mistrial, Ms. Andre says, the judge did not grant the retrial but dropped the original $15 million awarded to Ashley to $7.5 million. There was another appeal, she says, and so far, Ashley has not received any money.
"It's a very exhausting and involved process," Ms. Andre says.
On April 12, Ashley went through an involved surgery where the doctors had to break her legs and then put them back together, her mother says.
Afterwards Ashley was in rehab at St. Mary's Hospital for Children in Bayside, Queens. Ashley has been
home since June 15 and is slowly recovering. She has always had to walk with a walker and has recently begun to walk with it again.
Mentally she's normal but physically she's limited, her mother says. Ashley goes to regular school and has none of the other problems often associated with premature birth.
The main problem is that her hamstring muscles don't grow in conjunction with the rest of her body.
Christine receives supplemental social security and says that she couldn't manage without it. SSI covers most of the medical bills, she says, and Ashley is also covered under Medicaid.
Ms. Andre says she left her abusive husband about four years ago and receives no child support. She does her best to support herself, Ashley and another child, her son Christopher, who was born in 1982.
" I cannot even begin to describe in words how difficult it has been," says Ms. Andre. "It is frustrating for everyone involved, unbelievably difficult and not over yet."
At first she says she was not even comfortable taking the money but since she is a friend of the chairman of the fundraiser, he convinced her to accept the check because he and the fire department wanted to do something to help her.
Christine is grateful for the public's concern but does not feel comfortable taking donations from strangers, she says, adding that she will use the check for whatever Ashley needs. . . ."whether it be equipment or after school programs or anything else she needs.".
The North Bellmore Fire Department fundraiser began nine years ago. Among those awarded the money in the past are the family of a North Merrick firefighter who died and whose wife is blind.
