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longer we wait
less chance for help'
He Now Needs The Help
He Hoped To Give Others
By BOBBYE TEMPLE
Bee Staff Writer
Pakisa Tshimika had a dream of
helping his people — of completing his
studies at Pacific College, attending
medical school in France and returning to his tiny village of Kejiji in Zaire
to serve as a medical missionary.
But his dream was shattered in the
early morning hours of July 29 when
the car he was driving went out of control, crashed and left Tshimika with a
broken neck and total paralysis.
The accident occurred just north of
Medford, Ore. Tshimika is in the
Rogue Valley Memorial Hospital in
Medford.
According to Gary Nachtigall, coordinator of community affairs for
Pacific College, surgeons and therapists indicate that if rehabilitation
who come along every once in a
while."
Nachtigall said Tshimika, 24, the
fourth of six children of a native Men-
nonite Brethren pastor in Kajiji, is an
especially talented person.
"He completed high school in Zaire
and qualified for a government college scholarship, but did not accept it.
He was leery of the strings of government scholarships. Through the help
of interested persons both in Zaire
and here, he was able to come to
Pacific College. He also received one
of our foreign student scholarships."
Nachtigall said that Tshimika was
an outstanding student leader at
Pacific, was elected to the student
executive committee as spiritual
affairs chairman, and often spoke to
outside groups on behalf of the col-
The question is now academic. On
July 29, Tshimika and three other students were on their way to Vancouver, B.C., to attend the wedding of two
of their classmates. It was late at
night. Tshimika went to sleep at the
wheel, lost control of the car and
crashed. The other three students suffered a variety of injuries, but have
been released from the hospital and
are now back in Fresno.
Tshimika's back was broken
between the sixth and seventh vertebrae, but the spinal cord was not severed. The vertebrae have been fused,
and he has undergone plastic surgery
to repair severe facial lacerations. He
also sustained a fractured skull.
Nachtigall hopes that Tshimika can
he rpnvd *^r»T ^'W-v* r~- ;"•""
The
Fresno Bee
Wed., Aug. 18,1976 Cl
Paralyzed Student Asks
Further Service To God
Pakisa Tshimika receives words of encouragement
from Arlene Gerdes, left, a Mennonite missionary
nurse who knew Tshimika in his native Zaire, and Ann
Heinrichs, his "American mother," as he gets settled
in the Leon S. Peters Rehabilitation Center in the
Community Hospital following a flight from Medford,
Ore.
Bee Photo by Ralph V. Thronebery
By BOBBYE TEMPLE
Bee Staff Writer
Pakisa Tshimika came back to Fresno Tuesday afternoon — on a stretcher in a private plane provided by
someone he doesn't even know — to
begin a rehabilitation program paid
for by people he probably will never
meet.
His coming back was far different
from the day he left Fresno on July 28
in a car with three friends, laughing
and excited as they anticipated the
wedding of Pacific College classmates in Vancouver, B.C.
The trip came to a sudden end in the
early morning hours of July 29, just
north of Medford, Ore. Tshimika, a 24-
year-old student from Zaire in Africa,
fell asleep at the wheel, lost
control of the car and crashed. He suffered a skull fracture, severe facial
lacerations and a broken neck, which
left him paralyzed. The other students
were less seriously injured and
returned to Fresno earlier.
His doctors in Medford did what
they could for Tshimika, but felt that
if he was to have any chance of
regaining use of his arms and legs, he
would have to be transferred quickly
to a major rehabilitation center —
they recommended hospitals in Portland, Ore., Santa Clara and Community Hospital in Fresno.
But Tshimika is a foreign student
with few resources. His father is a
Mennonite Brethren minister in Kajiji, a tiny village in Zaire, and earns
$20 a month. And there are six brothers and sisters to be cared for.
Tshimika's tuition at Pacific College, where he has completed his
junior year, is paid in part by a scholarship from the college and from the
donations of friends both in Zaire and
in this country.
And the cost of rehabilitation therapy is $200 a day, according to Charles
Sant'Agata, public relations director
for Community Hospital. The doctors
estimated that Tshimika would need
intensive therapy for at least four to
six months — $25,000 to $40,000 total
costs.
The task of trying to raise that
money fell to Gary Nachtigall, coordinator of community affairs for
Pacific College. A story ran in The
Bee last Wednesday about Tshimika
and carried an appeal for donations to
the Pakisa Tshimika Medical Fund at
the college.
And a community, touched by the
plight of the young man so far from
home and family, responded.
Said a happy Nachtigall on Thursday afternoon, "My phone started
ringing before I left the office yesterday afternoon and hasn't stopped all
day."
To date some $7,000 has been donated toward the $40,000 goal.
But time was a critical factor for
Tshimika. The doctors said that he
must begin therapy immediately. The
longer the wait, the less chance that
therapy would help.
The board of directors of Community Hospital decided not to wait. James
Helzer, hospital administrator, was
authorized to accept Tshimika as soon
as he could be flown to Fresno to Com-
munity's Leon S. Peters Rehabilitation Center even without full assurance that the treatment would be paid
for. Pacific College has assumed the
responsibility of making sure the
money is available.
Builder's Concrete, Inc. of Fresno
chartered a private plane to fly
Tshimika from Medford to Fresno.
Jones Ambulance Co. donated the
See Paralyze Page C3
_ - «« «*j. his iatner is a Brethren pastor
can be sent to the Pakisa Tshimika with five other children.
Object Description
| Title | Scrapbook |
| Object type | Photo album |
| Digital collection | Leon S. Peters Papers |
| Physical collection | Leon S. Peters papers |
| Folder structure | Biographical_information |
Description
| Title | Page 93a |
| Date Created | 1976-08-18 |
| Physical description | 35.9 cm. x 40.7 cm. |
| Full text search | longer we wait less chance for help' He Now Needs The Help He Hoped To Give Others By BOBBYE TEMPLE Bee Staff Writer Pakisa Tshimika had a dream of helping his people — of completing his studies at Pacific College, attending medical school in France and returning to his tiny village of Kejiji in Zaire to serve as a medical missionary. But his dream was shattered in the early morning hours of July 29 when the car he was driving went out of control, crashed and left Tshimika with a broken neck and total paralysis. The accident occurred just north of Medford, Ore. Tshimika is in the Rogue Valley Memorial Hospital in Medford. According to Gary Nachtigall, coordinator of community affairs for Pacific College, surgeons and therapists indicate that if rehabilitation who come along every once in a while." Nachtigall said Tshimika, 24, the fourth of six children of a native Men- nonite Brethren pastor in Kajiji, is an especially talented person. "He completed high school in Zaire and qualified for a government college scholarship, but did not accept it. He was leery of the strings of government scholarships. Through the help of interested persons both in Zaire and here, he was able to come to Pacific College. He also received one of our foreign student scholarships." Nachtigall said that Tshimika was an outstanding student leader at Pacific, was elected to the student executive committee as spiritual affairs chairman, and often spoke to outside groups on behalf of the col- The question is now academic. On July 29, Tshimika and three other students were on their way to Vancouver, B.C., to attend the wedding of two of their classmates. It was late at night. Tshimika went to sleep at the wheel, lost control of the car and crashed. The other three students suffered a variety of injuries, but have been released from the hospital and are now back in Fresno. Tshimika's back was broken between the sixth and seventh vertebrae, but the spinal cord was not severed. The vertebrae have been fused, and he has undergone plastic surgery to repair severe facial lacerations. He also sustained a fractured skull. Nachtigall hopes that Tshimika can he rpnvd *^r»T ^'W-v* r~- ;"•"" The Fresno Bee Wed., Aug. 18,1976 Cl Paralyzed Student Asks Further Service To God Pakisa Tshimika receives words of encouragement from Arlene Gerdes, left, a Mennonite missionary nurse who knew Tshimika in his native Zaire, and Ann Heinrichs, his "American mother," as he gets settled in the Leon S. Peters Rehabilitation Center in the Community Hospital following a flight from Medford, Ore. Bee Photo by Ralph V. Thronebery By BOBBYE TEMPLE Bee Staff Writer Pakisa Tshimika came back to Fresno Tuesday afternoon — on a stretcher in a private plane provided by someone he doesn't even know — to begin a rehabilitation program paid for by people he probably will never meet. His coming back was far different from the day he left Fresno on July 28 in a car with three friends, laughing and excited as they anticipated the wedding of Pacific College classmates in Vancouver, B.C. The trip came to a sudden end in the early morning hours of July 29, just north of Medford, Ore. Tshimika, a 24- year-old student from Zaire in Africa, fell asleep at the wheel, lost control of the car and crashed. He suffered a skull fracture, severe facial lacerations and a broken neck, which left him paralyzed. The other students were less seriously injured and returned to Fresno earlier. His doctors in Medford did what they could for Tshimika, but felt that if he was to have any chance of regaining use of his arms and legs, he would have to be transferred quickly to a major rehabilitation center — they recommended hospitals in Portland, Ore., Santa Clara and Community Hospital in Fresno. But Tshimika is a foreign student with few resources. His father is a Mennonite Brethren minister in Kajiji, a tiny village in Zaire, and earns $20 a month. And there are six brothers and sisters to be cared for. Tshimika's tuition at Pacific College, where he has completed his junior year, is paid in part by a scholarship from the college and from the donations of friends both in Zaire and in this country. And the cost of rehabilitation therapy is $200 a day, according to Charles Sant'Agata, public relations director for Community Hospital. The doctors estimated that Tshimika would need intensive therapy for at least four to six months — $25,000 to $40,000 total costs. The task of trying to raise that money fell to Gary Nachtigall, coordinator of community affairs for Pacific College. A story ran in The Bee last Wednesday about Tshimika and carried an appeal for donations to the Pakisa Tshimika Medical Fund at the college. And a community, touched by the plight of the young man so far from home and family, responded. Said a happy Nachtigall on Thursday afternoon, "My phone started ringing before I left the office yesterday afternoon and hasn't stopped all day." To date some $7,000 has been donated toward the $40,000 goal. But time was a critical factor for Tshimika. The doctors said that he must begin therapy immediately. The longer the wait, the less chance that therapy would help. The board of directors of Community Hospital decided not to wait. James Helzer, hospital administrator, was authorized to accept Tshimika as soon as he could be flown to Fresno to Com- munity's Leon S. Peters Rehabilitation Center even without full assurance that the treatment would be paid for. Pacific College has assumed the responsibility of making sure the money is available. Builder's Concrete, Inc. of Fresno chartered a private plane to fly Tshimika from Medford to Fresno. Jones Ambulance Co. donated the See Paralyze Page C3 _ - «« «*j. his iatner is a Brethren pastor can be sent to the Pakisa Tshimika with five other children. |
