LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Robinson family gives thanks for support

To the Cape Henlopen and Caesar Rodney school district communities: Oct. 21, 2016, was a day that changed the lives of each member of my family, none more so than my father, Dave Robinson. On that day, my dad was doing what he loved best, riding his bike through the streets of his hometown of Lewes, when he hit a car. While we may never know what caused this horrible accident, we do know that he was thrown headfirst off his bike. In the accident, he broke several vertebrae in his neck and compressed his spinal cord, paralyzing his arms and legs. In this moment, a good Samaritan was placed in my dad’s path, and this person, unknown to my dad or our family, called 911 and stayed with my father until the ambulance arrived. Whoever you are, my father and family thank you. Words will never be able to express the depth of our gratitude for your compassion, but please know you will be remembered in our hearts for a lifetime. My father was taken to Beebe Hospital, cognizant and alert. Here, the emergency physicians and nurses quickly performed a CT scan and found the broken bones in my father’s neck. The decision to airlift my dad to Thomas Jefferson Hospital was made, and he arrived in Philadelphia for spinal surgery soon after. We are blessed to have such a quick-thinking, responsive team at our local hospital. Due to the severity of my father’s injury, it was essential that he be operated on as soon as possible for him to have the greatest hope for regaining the use of his arms and legs. The Beebe team and helicopter team worked together in a professional and caring manner so that my father would arrive safely to Jefferson in a timely fashion. It has since been five weeks since the accident. In that time, my father, my mother, Linda, and our family have felt the warm embrace of our communities in ways too numerous to fully list here and too deep to describe. However, we would like to specifically thank some of those who have helped us these last few weeks and continue to help us. The praying hands of our Bethel United Methodist Church family have embraced us and prayed for my father since the day of the accident. Also, I am fairly certain my dad is now on every prayer list in Sussex and Kent counties, and I know he appreciates those prayers. My parents’ friends in Pilottown Village are helping my mom take care of the house and drive with her to Philadelphia, and the Hawkseye community and my Delaware Tech family provided meals for my mom and my family. Numerous family members and friends helped us shuttle around and look after all the kids as we traveled back and forth to Philadelphia and tried to maintain a sense of normalcy for them. Also, Fredman, Melissa Steele, and The Cape Gazette wrote about my father and family with such compassion, and those loving words (and a comical retelling of how to get lost in a big city hospital) helped keep my father in good spirits. We would also like to thank Andy Walter at the Delaware State News for his kind article about my father. Additionally, everyone knows my dad loves watching and talking high school sports, so, it meant a lot to him that Cape’s football and field hockey teams remembered him by sending cards of encouragement. Numerous current and former students, teachers, administrators, and school board members of both the Cape Henlopen and Caesar Rodney school districts sent my father messages of support and visited him at Jefferson. Also, all of our children’s teachers at Milton Elementary, Shields Elementary, and Beacon Middle School helped our children by giving them a supportive place to talk about the accident and even make get-well cards for dad. We would also like to thank the faculty and staff of the Caesar Rodney School District for their “Rally for Robinson” and the photobook they sent, highlighting the event. Finally, we thank everyone else who has taken the time to go visit my dad in Philadelphia along with the all of the cards, conversations, and well wishes. My dad is now at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia so that he can receive extensive physical and occupational therapy for his injuries. While we do not know his ultimate prognosis at this point, we know that with the continued support and prayers of the Cape and CR communities, he will continue to improve each and every day. In this season of Thanksgiving, we are thankful to all of you for your generosity and support as it is a daily affirmation of faith and love.

With Gratitude, Alison R. Hughes On behalf of The Robinson family – Linda S. Robinson, Amy Robinson and Bill Crotty, Alison and D.J. Hughes Milton