Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia

Special Section: Combined Federal Campaign 2009

Air Force Veteran Receives Donated Car from Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia

By Adrienne Soroka
Assoc. Direc.tor of Develop., Catholic Charities of Eastern VA Inc.

Having both a blood disease and a severe skin condition would be a real hardship for anyone. But consider how overwhelming it would be if, in addition to dealing with a major illness, treatment, prescriptions and their side effects, you also had to struggle just to get to the doctor’s office.

Before he got his own transportation, it would take almost half a day for Air Force Veteran Bill Boroughs to travel from his home in Norfolk to his doctor’s appointments. With a 160-mile road trip to get to the specialists who were treating him at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Durham, N.C., and with no vehicle, he had no choice but to make the journey by Greyhound bus, which made frequent stops along the winding route past the North Carolina-Virginia state border.

It meant that Borough’s medical appointment consumed the best part of three days – beginning with a bus ride which at times could take as long as nine hours (depending on whether it was the local or express route), another day for the hospital visit, blood tests and various medical procedures required for treatment, and a third day to make the return bus trip home.

For a man like Boroughs, it was time consuming, but do-able since due to his medical condition, he was on disability. For years, he has been suffering from primary hemochromatosis and porphyria. Hemochromatosis is an inherited condition that causes the body to absorb and store too much iron. Without treatment, the disease can cause the liver, heart and pancreas to fail. Additionally, Boroughs has porphria, a severe blistering of the skin, which affects his nervous system as well.

Boroughs started going to the VA Hospital in Durham while living in North Carolina. When he moved to Norfolk to be closer to family, he still wanted to be able to see the specialists who had kept his condition under control and with whom he had developed an excellent relationship. After a while though, the bus trips back and forth were too much. That’s when he heard about the vehicle donation program available for low income clients of Catholic Charities Eastern Virginia. The program was able to provide him with a 1987 Nissan Stanza.

Boroughs said that he almost cried when he heard that he was getting the vehicle. In the past, he often hitchhiked to get anywhere. “The donated Nissan is so important to me – it has given me wings,” Boroughs said. After a recent trip to his doctors in Durham, Boroughs said “I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the car,” he said. “It has improved my life 100 percent.”

Catholic Charities’ mission is to improve the quality of life for all people in need by providing professional compassionate services through intervention, prevention, education and advocacy. Our goal is to help the poor, protect the vulnerable and empower communities. To support our mission, we rely on the generosity of donors, contributions from the Combined Federal Campaign and United Way, corporate and foundation gifts, government grants and our vehicle donation program.

To learn more about Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia and how you can make a difference, please visit our web site www.cceva.org or call 456-2236 ext. 521 or 504.

To support Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia, designate CFC #50253.