June 3, 2002---
ROSS DILLON
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Ross and his family need your help...

10/12/2017

11 Comments

 
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The following is courtesy of Ariel Russell from the You Caring site:

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In the early morning of October 9th, Rusty and Betsy Dillon awoke to the smell of smoke and looked down from their home on Trinity Rd in Glen Ellen and saw flames rapidly coming up the hill.  They loaded Ross in the van as quickly as possible and fled over the mountain to Oakville where they sought refuge at their church.  They would later come to find out from neighbors, that their beloved family home of nearly 20 years was lost to the fire as well as everything in it.  

As most of you know, the Dillon's home was not just the place where they lived, where their kids grew up, where holidays were hosted, and where they kept generations of family heirlooms.  Most importantly, it had been built into the ideal at-home living situation for Ross, who was permanently disabled in 2001 when he was hit by a car in Occidental while riding his bike.  

Over the last fifteen years, the Dillons have accumulated an extraordinary amount of medical and physical therapy equipment (mostly donated) and modified the home to make it wheelchair accessible and feasible for Ross to move around as independently as possible.  With the help of full time caregivers, they have given Ross the best home possible where he has continued to make medical progress that everyone said was impossible.  Through all of this, Rusty and Betsy were able to maintain a semblance of a normal life- Rusty keeping his psychotherapy practice and role as priest at his church and Betsy assuming the role of full time caregiver and brain injury rehab specialist.  The last fifteen years have been survivable, but devastating financially for the Dillons, with their only solace being their beloved home.

Now their home is gone and everything in it. They also lost Rusty's and Ross' caregiver's personal cars.  Jeff and Ariel Russell also lost many of their farm supplies and belongings that had been stored at the Dillon home.  

Now the Dillon family is faced with starting over completely, for themselves and Ross.  In the short term, we will face finding housing and replacing daily essentials (clothes, shoes, toiletries, medical supplies, etc).  In the long term, we will face difficult decisions about whether to rebuild or not and how to afford that.  

Rusty and Betsy are angels who have generously given everything they have to care for Ross. Please join me in supporting them in any way you can, to ease the burden of this loss.  They survived the last tragedy because of their supportive community and they will certainly need to lean heavily on their community again to make it through this disaster.  

Help can come in the form of donations, offers of wheelchair accessible housing, medical equipment (hospital bed, adult diapers, shower chair, etc), and words of encouragement.  
For more information on my family's journey caring for Ross, visit www.Rossdillon.com

11 Comments
Joe Paulino
10/19/2017 05:51:40 pm

I am devastated by this news. I will help you. The Dillons have been amazing examples of courage and faith. I send my love and my tears.

Reply
Mary-Jane Stimson
11/6/2017 12:26:35 pm

I have a motorized wheelchair (Permobil M300) in good shape if needed.

Reply
Kate Douglas
11/6/2017 02:02:44 pm

Thank you! I have forwarded your message on to Betsy and Rusty.

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Vicky Scott
11/24/2017 06:42:22 pm

Dear Precious Dillon Family,
You are in our hearts and prayers. We can't imagine what you are experiencing right now. Thanks be to God that you were able to escape and had a place of refuge to go to. The Lord will lead you and guide you. Blessed be the name of the LORD

Reply
Vicky Scott
11/25/2017 07:15:01 am

Habakkuk 3:17-19

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Stephanie Frink
2/8/2018 04:43:20 pm

I’m so saddened to hear about this devastating loss. Betsy, you emailed me when I needed support with my husbands TBI in 2009. I check every year for an update on Ross. My husband and our family struggled and dedicated our lives to rehab. After four and a half years he was suddenly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died. Our TBI journey is over but yours continues. I admire your dedication. I will attempt to locate equipment that can be given to Ross. Much love to you.

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Saundra
3/25/2018 03:41:12 am

I will add Ross and Family to my prayer list.

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Karyl
12/5/2018 09:56:34 am

I was hoping for an update on their living situation. Do they have everything they need?

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Sylvia Crawford
1/14/2022 01:13:28 pm

Hello Dear Dillon Family: Betsy, Rusty, Ariel, and Ross ~ I think of all of you often, particularly in context of Faith and Hope Academies. Those are such rich and pleasant memories. I hope you are all doing well, since these last updates on this site post the Sonoma fires. Somehow I have lost touch with you. Here in Portland Oregon, where Bill and I have lived since 2016, i was getting paper copies of your update newsletter. I was hoping to find recent updates online here. Please let me know how i can get back in contact. My prayers and best wishes are with you now and always. Blessings to you all with my admiration and affection, Love, Sylvia Crawford

Reply
Kate Douglas link
1/14/2022 10:17:27 pm

Sylvia: I left a comment above but just in case--I sent your message to the Dillons and Rusty replied immediately, asking if I could post it to the site. I told him I would need your permission to do that, so This is my request. Please let me know--feel free to write to me at [email protected]

Reply
That Girl in Italy link
8/9/2023 10:52:30 pm

I enjjoyed reading your post

Reply



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    This photo of Ross was taken around 2001-his sense of humor was always amazing, and it's still a big part of the man he is today.

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