Tille Family

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Thank You Handi Medical Supply!!!

So it’s been forever since my last post. I’m sorry for that. I think about it several times a day, but never get to it. I’ve started a couple times, but I can never get past the intro before I get interrupted. I can’t let it go any longer. I need to thank some very important people who did a ton to help out the Tille family.

If you don’t already know, I sell medical supplies for Coloplast. We’re a market leader in a variety of product categories. None of the products are flashy and sexy to sell, but if you have a problem related to one of my products, you absolutely need them. It doesn’t hurt that we really have the best stuff in the market place. I sell to a variety of customers: doctors’ offices, hospitals, nursing homes, distributors, medical suppliers, and pharmacies. Many of them read this blog. A couple weeks ago, one of them showed up at our front door on a Saturday morning and I’d like to tell you all about it. Handi Medical Supply in St. Paul is my largest customer. I have many great relationships with people all over this organization from the warehouse to customer service to management. When I’m in a pinch, I have no hesitation calling anyone from Handi and asking for a favor.

Midway through Angela’s pregnancy, she was admitted to the hospital for the first time based on the doctor’s recommendations. She was there a week, and was discharged. She was doing so well; they didn’t feel she needed to be there. On the day of her discharge I got a phone call and learned that Angela’s grandfather had passed away. I spoke with the staff first as I knew that there would be no way that I’d be able to keep her at home and in bed. They felt that she could head back to Iowa for the funeral as long as she got a wheelchair and used it. Handi was my first call. We stopped on the way home from the hospital. They were there waiting for us. Many employees stopped by to say hello and asked how she was doing. We got the chair headed south the following morning. Angela was able to say goodbye to her grandfather. Thank you.

Mary, the owner of Handi, has a special interest in our situation. She has a couple beautiful little girls, but they were born very premature. I’ve been able to talk with Mary about our situation and she’s been a great source of inspiration. She called me in to her office one day recently and asked what we needed. She wanted to help us out and that all came to fruition a couple weeks ago when Mike and Kim Bailey rang our doorbell. Mike is the COO at Handi and Kim is his bride. They were dropping off their only child at college for the first time. The University of Wisconsin – River Falls is located in…if you guessed River Falls, you were right. Yea you! I’m sure it was emotional for Kim. However, I wonder a little if she was more emotional that they left their only daughter at school or if she came to the realization she was gonna be on her own with Mike for the rest of her life. All kidding aside, they had a van full of stuff for us. They came through with the 5 brand spankin new car seats for us. They’re the second level of car seat for kids. They’ll hold the kids from this winter for a few years. These days, kids have to be in a car/booster seat for what seems like until their old enough to drive themselves. AWESOME huh? That wasn’t it! They also had 5 shiny Schwinn Tricycles for the kids. The trikes were totally tricked out: chrome, ribbons, and a bell.

They didn’t forget about Meredith either. Mike and I brought in Meredith’s gift. She got a pony, a friggin life size pony!!! She was so happy. Then Mike destroyed her life as we know it. I will take this memory with me forever. This isn’t just a normal pony. It neighs, shakes its head, blinks its eyes, wags its tail, and even chews on its own plastic carrot. When Mike flipped the switch, Meredith went in to a state of panic and fear that I had never seen. I felt so bad for Meredith as she ran to me crying and screaming. She was crying for “momma,” but she wasn’t in reach. I quickly got her to momma. I felt so bad for Mike. He was doing such a great thing for our family and then he scared the death out of our child like no one has ever done before. It wasn’t long before Mike said that he and Kim disrupted the harmony of our home enough and probably needed to go. You guys are always welcome and please tell your daughter that if she has any down time, we’d love to let her spend some time with the Tille quints, if you know what I mean.

Brief update on the kids since its been over a week since my last post. They’re just gaining a ton a weight. Chubby cheeks and all that jazz. They’re doing great!!!

Brooklyn – 8 lbs., 1 oz.
Lauren – 6 lbs., 11 oz.
Alex – 8 lbs., 13 oz.
Madeline – 8 lbs.
Emma – 6 lbs., 12 oz.

We have weigh ins weekly so we’ll get new updates on Wednesday. And…if you’re wondering at all about Meredith and how she’s getting along with her Pony…she’s doing fine. She isn’t thrilled about it when we flip the switch, but she seems to like it a lot. She even needed to give it a hug and kiss before bed the first night we had it in the house.

Angela and I want to say “Thank You” to Mary and your family, Mike and your family, and everyone else at Handi Medical Supply for your support of our family.

Until next time…