Anixter Center‘s New Focus program gave Tim Donahoe the therapy and support he needed to reclaim his life following a massive stroke at age 41.
The handsome, blue-eyed man grew up in Northbrook and was a football, swimming and water polo star at Loyola Academy. He went on to college, business and family success, typical of overachievers with a strong work ethic. One Sunday, he took his three sons swimming to give his wife some quiet time at home and returned for dinner. The stroke—caused by an undetected hole in his heart—hit while he was relaxing on the couch.
Life changed forever in that painful moment. Despite extensive traditional rehab, Donahoe still couldn’t read or recall his sons’ names, let alone keep up with the pace of his former job. “I lived in front of the TV—isolated, lost—until I came to New Focus, where you feel camaraderie and support,” he says. Both his wife and father also found huge support.
New Focus starts where traditional rehab and insurance end for individuals who suffer injury to the brain, like that caused by stroke or accidents. Clients spend their day in classes with peers pursuing physical, mental and social retraining—including dance therapy, literacy, computer training and weekly field trips. They are inspired by the success of others who have traveled the same difficult journey before them.
Nowadays, Donahoe serves as that inspiration. He teaches for New Focus. Just a few minutes with him makes it easy to imagine how inspiring he must be for current clients. Anixter Center Board of Trustees Chair Elaine Cottey enthuses, “Tim’s worked so hard. He’s an example of lifelong learning at its best.”
The New Focus program itself also inspires. It’s unique in the state and probably in the nation, says Manager Lisa Goldman. But this kind of success makes it worthy of replication everywhere. Unfortunately, huddling isolated at home in front of a TV screen is still the norm for many victims of brain trauma. Finding camaraderie and inspiration to rehabilitate together must be the way forward to more productive lives.
Anixter Center offers many other programs too, for more than 10,000 individuals with all types of disabilities and related challenges. Founded in 1919 as an orphanage, it evolved into a leading provider of services for the disabled and was renamed in 1993 in honor of phenomenal support by husband and wife Lester and Rosalie Anixter and their family.
The annual gala, Soaring to Success: Benefit for Ability is being held Thursday, April 18 in the Winter Garden at Harold Washington Library. There are many other ways to support Anixter Center too, including serving as a volunteer or with direct donations of money or things, including electronics, furniture art supplies and more.
“We are all here to find meaning and purpose in life,” Goldman says. “This place at its core is all about doing just that.”
Photo: Elaine Cottey, Laura Thompson, Lisa Goldman, Tim Donahoe, Rosie Burke
