Writing

The following news articles appeared in The Evening Leader during my time there. Additional writing samples are available upon request.

Kindness carries family
MINSTER — During his time serving in Iraq, SPC Patrick Minnich received calendars from his wife full with acts of kindness she had encountered from the community.
“Everyday, my wife would keep notes of kind things that people had done for us or for our children, and she would send over calendars,” Minnich said. “Rarely there would be a day where someone didn’t do something for us — whether it be someone offering to take the kids for an hour so she could go grocery shopping, someone bringing over a meal or someone sending a card or note saying we’re there for you and we support you.”
Minnich was stationed at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, a soldier of the 718th transportation battalion from Columbus, and was in charge of withdrawing troops and supplies from Iraq. A teacher at Marion Local High School, Minnich said he always thought about serving his country, and after Sept. 11, he felt it was a responsibility.
“After Sept. 11, I felt it was a responsibility for us to defend freedom and defend those that cannot defend themselves,” he said. “Saddam Hussein killed 20,000 of his own countrymen because they disagreed with his ideologies and his politics. To have people like that in this world going unchecked — things need to be done about it. So, of course, we need to defend our own borders, but at the same time, we need to defend humanity around the world.”
He arrived in Kuwait Dec. 6, 2010, just 15 days after his daughter, the youngest of four children, was born.
“I got to see her for five days before I went overseas,” Minnich said. “It was tough.”
Leaving his children, now ages 7, 5, 2 and 1, was difficult for him and for his children, Minnich said.
“Can you imagine telling your 6-year-old child at the time that you’re now the man of the house, and you need to help your mother out as much as possible,” Minnich said.
“For my 4-year-old, at the time, it was very hard for him. He really didn’t understand. My two other ones were so little that they didn’t realize that I was gone.”
He said his wife, also a teacher at Marion Local, took on an additional role in the family during his absence.
“In my family, the father is the disciplinarian, and so that’s a year that my wife had to step up and take over,” Minnich said. “She had to fill both of those roles of the parents, and it was hard. It was hard on everybody. The spouse and the children, they serve right along with the soldier. I couldn’t do what my wife did. She took care of four kids with a newborn all by herself for a year.”
Minnich said he was able to keep in regular contact with his family through e-mails, phone calls and Skype.
“We were able to Skype on a weekly basis,” he said. “We couldn’t do it every night because of the time difference. They could see me and I could see them, and that helped out a lot ... For the kids, Skype really helped out, so I could have face-to-face interaction with them and for them to share their experiences. Even when they were unwrapping presents on Christmas and on birthdays, it was nice to experience that with them.”
To recognize the sacrifices his children made, Minnich recently wrote a letter from Santa to the children of servicemen and women.
“It was because of them (my children) that I served, and it was because of them that I was able to fulfill my mission,” Minnich said. “I wanted them to feel appreciated, not just by me ... I wanted them to know that their country also appreciates their sacrifice, and it was important for me that a childhood icon, such as Santa, to take a moment to express his gratitude.”
He noted that it was important to him that the letter be extended to all children of servicemen and women, not just his own.
“I wanted it to be extended to all the children, not just mine,” he said. “This war has been going on for 10 plus years, and we’re still fighting in Afghanistan. The children feel the sacrifice as much as the soldiers do.”
Minnich also recognized the support he received from the community.
“I appreciated the support that I received from home,” he said. “My wife was a parent with four children, one of them a newborn, and our community stepped up so much to help them out — through baby-sitting and taking care of Ashley. My wife had emergency surgery while I was overseas, and during that time, the community stepped up and cooked dinners and took care of the kids.”
Minnich returned home on Oct. 24 and is now working with the National Guard unit in St. Marys. Minnich said the recent announcement of the end of the war in Iraq was a blessing.
“To me it was very meaningful,” he said. “I looked at it as if I were participating in history.”
He noted that a lot has been done for the people in Iraq.
“We have done our best to stabilize that country,” he said. “We have taken a ruthless dictator out of power. We have established freedoms. So many times, the national news fails to recognize the fact that we have provided freedoms to women to go to school, to drive, to have basic human rights. Over there, women were treated as slaves or worse. Now, through their new government, they are able to have the same rights as men.”
Minnich said he hopes Iraq will be able to continue to move forward.
“I pray for the stability of their country, that they’ll be able to move forward and utilize democracy as best they can and, hopefully, prevent any other conflict such as the one we just experienced from ever happening again,” he said.
More than anything, Minnich said he is grateful for the support he received from his family, friends and the community.
“I was serving for my country, and at the same time, my country was serving the needs of my family,” he said. “Without their support, I could not have done what I have done. I am very grateful and very proud to have served for such a wonderful nation.”


Campaign reaches goal
ST. MARYS — As of Thursday morning, the United Way of Auglaize County had raised $285,000 for its 2011 campaign, just $15,000 shy of its $300,000 goal, and a few phone calls made a big difference.
“This morning, (United Way of Auglaize County Executive Director) Randy (Fisher) and I were on the telephone, and at one point, I thought he was going to come through the telephone line to get a high five,” Campaign Chair Rex Katterheinrich said at the fourth annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon Thursday afternoon.
Fisher told Katterheinrich that the employees of American Trim had committed $3,671 to the United Way of Auglaize County campaign, and American Trim’s corporate chipped in an additional $10,000, bringing the campaign close to its goal.
“Obviously we were edging up on that $300,000 goal,” Katterheinrich said, noting that he told Fisher to contact G.A. Wintzer & Son, one of the handful of corporations that had yet to report its results.
 The company committed $2,000 to the United Way of Auglaize County.
“From yesterday at this time until today, we’ve gone from $285,000 to $300,671,” Katterheinrich said. “We obviously are very, very happy with that information. We don’t think that’s quite the end of that ... We started out with a goal of $300,000, and we have achieved that.”
Katterheinrich thanked volunteers for their support.
“I want to thank all of you,” he said. “Thank you very much for all the support that you have given, not just for the campaign, but for before the campaign and into the future.”
Fisher said he was thrilled with the achievement.
“We’re extremely thrilled for all the effort that everybody has put forward and the fact that we’re able to announce positive results,” Fisher said.
He noted that the community working together and the leadership of Katterheinrich helped the organization reach its campaign goal.
“We brought our county together in ways that many didn’t think was possible and under the extreme, great dedication of this year’s campaign chair, we were able to finally announce that we made that goal that we set for ourselves,” Fisher said.
Volunteers were also recognized at the luncheon for their dedication and support of the United Way of Auglaize County and its 20 partner agencies. For this year’s Agency Testimonial, Catholic Social Services was spotlighted.
“We are so appreciative to be a recipient of United Way of Auglaize County dollars,” Catholic Social Services Development Coordinator Kim Custenborder said.
“With the dollars that we receive, we use those for counseling services. We believe that seeking out professional help is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength. We’re very fortunate with the dollars that we receive that we’re in four locations here in Auglaize County.”
Volunteers heard the story of a couple who has adopted three children through Catholic Social Services, who were grateful for the help they received from the organization and the experiences they have had with their three girls.
Custenborder  thanked volunteers for their support and noted that funding from the United Way of Auglaize County is essential to Catholic Social Services.
“Thank you for all the help you do in helping the United Way raise the dollars that you allocate to us,” she said. “We appreciate those dollars. We couldn’t do what we’re doing — strengthening individuals and families through faith, service and charity and giving these families what they want, a life and happiness.”
United Way of Auglaize County Finance Coordinator Joy Winget updated attendees on the partnership with the Ohio Benefit Bank.
“The United Way of Auglaize County and the Benefit Bank help connect people with resources that they’re not aware of,” Winget said.
“The Benefit Bank is an Internet-based counselor assisted program that helps low-income to moderate-income individuals and families file tax credits for benefits and things that they’re eligible for. It’s a free service. Through the Ohio Benefit Bank, the program, with the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, the United Way served 168 clients this past year, saving them close to $17,000 just in filing fees.”
Fisher said reaching the campaign goal was exciting, but the county still needs more help.
“As excited as I am and as thrilled as we all are, we have to keep in mind that journey is just beginning,” Fisher said.
“The $300,000 is an exciting number, but it’s the minimum threshold of what our county needs. If we’re going to do this job, if we’re going to pull our county together and make sure nobody falls through the cracks, we’ve got to continue to build on the success this year.”
Fisher added there is still work to be done to improve the campaign.
“We have to continue to go out and work harder,” he said. “Get more volunteers, bring more people together and continue to inspire Auglaize County to live united. I have to tell you that I think we’re there. We are right on the cusp of turning this county into a county that others will look at as an inspiration ... This year has proved that it can be done. We’re willing to do so as long as you’re willing to work and continue to step up and make a difference like you did this year.”
For more information, visit AuglaizeUnitedWay.org or “Like” the “United Way of Auglaize County” page on Facebook.


Women create comfort
ST. MARYS — A long friendship has spurred the partnership of two area residents who are trying to make a difference in the lives of cancer patients.
Debi Squire and Kim Strickland met in high school, when Strickland moved from South Korea to the United States. Squire took time to teach Strickland English and took her out to social events.
“I didn’t speak English when I first came,” Strickland said. “Debi just put me under her wing and said ‘OK.’ She taught me to speak and corrected my English all the time.”
Squire said the two quickly clicked.
“We became fast friends with a smile, and we have been dear friends — like sisters — ever since,” Squire said.
The two both went on to be teachers — Squire in Coldwater and Strickland in St. Marys — and they remained close, raising their children together. In 2005, Squire was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. Squire left the hospital with surgical drainage tubes called Jackson-Pratt drains that were stitched to her body.
“It coils around your body, under your skin — sometimes around your back, sometimes back and forth — and it’s under your skin,” Squire said of the drainage tube. “It comes out a hole in your body. They take stitches and literally stitch it from your skin through the tube.”
At the end of the tube is a four-inch, football-shaped suction drain that hangs from a patient’s body. The drain is necessary, Squire noted, because patients’ bodies produce extra fluid after their operation.
“This happens to people that have breast augmentations, breast reductions, when they have voluntary plastic surgery and many normal surgeries not related to breast cancer,” she said. “Because they are often removing tissue, what happens is your body continues to make the fluids that it would need to supply that tissue.”
It is common for patients to have more than one drain, she said.
“Some girls come out with as many as eight (drains),” Squire said. “More often it’s two, three or four, but sometimes it’s six, seven or eight drains, depending on how much is being taken or how extensive the surgeries are.”
The amount of time a patient needs a drain can vary. Squire said some are able to leave the hospital without a drain, while others may need them for a few weeks. The drain, she said, is not supported.
“What’s holding this up is stitches,” she said, noting that a small loop is on the drain for patients to use a safety pin to clip the drain to a bra or T-shirt.
Showering was also difficult with the drains, Squire said.
“The doctors tell us to wear a T-shirt or a bra in the shower,” she said.
After catching her drain on a doorknob, Squire developed a life-threatening infection.
“I had sepsis, which is an infection throughout the body,” she said.
With a slew of antibiotics and medical attention, Squire was able to beat the infection but could not help but wonder if there was a way to prevent something similar from happening to other patients.
“I kept thinking during that year, ‘Why can’t I get something to hold these (drains)?’” she said.
After extensive searching, Squire was only able to find one product, and she said it is not comfortable. So, she began working on designing a product that was functional and comfortable for patients and teamed up with Strickland, creating their company, Cancer-Comforts.
“We’re a perfect team,” Strickland said of her partnership with Squire.
“She’s creative, she’s able to design, she can see the picture and went through it, she knows exactly what we need. For me to see that, and when she asked me to help, I could see how I could have my part to help her develop all that and work on it and make it happen.”
Cancer-Comforts offers a line of products designed for the comfort and ease of use for the patient. The “Hang In There” line features three drain pouches made from comfortable material and are adjustable to fit the patient’s needs.
The comfortable flannel pouch is designed for everyday use and is available in pink or white. The quick dry mesh pouch is designed to be cool and comfortable for hot days and will work in the shower. The shower caddy can hold up to eight drains and is made from a fast drying fabric.
A port pouch is also available, eliminating the need for tape. Two specially designed shower caddies have also been developed, the pleura vac caddy and the hemovac caddy.
Each of the products is made locally and is latex free. Squire said she and Strickland are working to get the products to area patients.
“This is a product that needs to go home with them from the hospital,” she said. “Giving it as a gift before surgery is an excellent idea.”
Squire noted when they receive an order, they get it to the patient as quickly as they can.
“They can call us and we will get it to them as quickly as possible,” she said. “Usually by the time people find that they need it, they need it now.”
 The two are working with local pharmacies and with the American Cancer Society and the Cancer Association of Auglaize County to get their products to patients in need. Squire noted that area residents may also get involved through sponsorships.
“What we would like to do is have groups sponsor — $150 will get it on 12 patients,” she said.
Squire noted that she is also available to educate interested groups.
“If any group wants a speaker, I’d gladly come and talk to them — educate them on drains, breast surgery, the cancer journey and chemo,” she said. “I would talk to them about my story and also introduce this and give them the opportunity.”
She said she and Strickland will continue to work on getting their product to patients in need.
“Our mission is to get it on every patient that needs a drain,” she said. “That’s what we’re devoting the rest of our lives to.”
For more information, call 888-586-8180, e-mail cancercomforts@gmail.com or visit Cancer-Comforts.com.