Andrew Repp has end stage Parkinson’s disease and spends most of his time in bed. Saturday was the first time he was able to sit up comfortably with his family in a long time, said medical social worker on his case, Stephanie Laurito.
“You look so good sitting up,” Dorothy Repp said.
Saturday was Andrew Repp’s first time in his backyard in more than seven years, his wife said.
“You haven’t even seen it since we took out the pond,” Dorothy Repp told her husband as he looked out at the backyard.
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Andrew Repp was able to sit upright because of a “Geri Chair.” Laurito said that because the family enjoyed having him sit up so much, she will be working to get the chair into the Repp’s home more often.
Laurito works for Grace Hospice and recently started a program she calls Meaningful Memories. The program aims to make a special day happen for a hospice patient. Laurito said she took a patient to a Cincinnati Red’s game and will be attending a wedding for a patient next week as part of the program.
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“We just want to help them thrive in life, with whatever they have left,” Laurito said.
The U. S. Air Force brought the Repps all over the country, from Wyoming to Mississippi to Texas. Andrew Repp even served in Taiwan away from his family. The Repps landed in Fairborn when Andrew was assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
The Repps are originally from Chicago and got married there, so it was only fitting that everyone ate Chicago-style hot dogs for their anniversary.
“I learned how to make them just for you,” Laurito told Andrew Repp.
The hospice staff decorated the Repps’ backyard for the party, complete with a photo of the Repps on their wedding night and at their 50th wedding anniversary.
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Andrew Repp’s ankle was broken from a skiing mishap, his wife said. But that didn’t stop him from dancing with his bride.
“No way was I going to miss that,” he said.
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