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A tragedy avoided in recent house fire Kathleen Wilkinson and John Lane had their house severely damaged in a fire Thursday afternoon, Oct. 25. But, the couple nearly lost something vastly more important than mere possessions. John's life was at stake when he went back up into the burning and smoke-filled bedroom in an effort to put the fire out himself. John recalled that he quickly became disoriented in the heavy, thick, black smoke and his thoughts immediately turned from putting out the fire and saving possessions to getting out of there and saving his own life. "I was getting scared," said John. "The air was hot and I was breathing smoke." John couldn't see and tried to feel his way down the hall that led to the stairs. He was pawing and clawing at the wall in an effort to find the stairway opening. "I was getting panicky," said John. At the same time, Kathleen was on her belly near the top of the stairs waiting for John. "I asked God, please help me know," she said. Right then she saw John's feeling fingers appear through the billowing smoke and she grabbed them as fast as she could. She was then able to work her hand up to his wrist. "I yanked his butt down those stairs," said Kathleen, who noted that John was very disoriented and covered in black, powder-like soot. Adrenaline was running high and Kathleen had to push John outside because of his disorientation, she said. Kathleen and John were safely outside and the Prairie du Chien Fire Department would soon be at the scene. "There's no question, she saved my life," said John. Kathleen, 39, said that she stayed low because of a lesson she learned in childhood from then Police Chief Gary Knickerbocker, who gave presentations each year to the school children. Another lesson is, "once you're out, stay out," said Kathleen. "I don't want any kids to lose their moms or dads and I don't want any moms or dads to lose their lives." Kathleen and John said that they would like parents and children to take note and learn from their near-tragic experience. No possession is worth losing one's life over, they agreed. Kathleen said that the Prairie du Chien firefighters did an outstanding job despite being hindered by road construction in front of their home at 309 S. Prairie St. "The Fire Department did a great job," she said. "Those firemen did an excellent job." Kathleen said that the frame, the roof and the siding are good on the house, but everything else needs to be gutted. She has insurance and they are dealing with the aftermath of the fire. She noted, however, that she and John can't receive any money from the insurance company until they get a dumpster to their house and all of their damaged possessions are inventoried. The torn up street, however, has deterred them from getting a dumpster in. "We're desperately looking for a place to rent for three to five months," said Kathleen, who noted that she and John have been staying at area motels and money is getting tight. Thankfully, nobody was injured in the fire, the cause of which is still being investigated. All of the household pets survived, with the exception of one cat, said Kathleen. Free Clinic opening is a story of determination, coincidence and generosity Anger is usually considered a destructive emotion. However, were it not for Robin Transo's anger, the InHealth free clinic in Boscobel, which serves clients from Crawford and Grant Counties, would not be up and running. Transo, who retired from 21 years of teaching in 2005 so she could spend more time with the two little girls she and her husband Poul-Erik adopted from the Ukraine, was working part time in her husband's clinic, Associated Balance and Hearing Clinic in Boscobel, where she talked to many of the patients and learned about their financial difficulties, especially in the area of health care. "I'm sensitive to people's issues," she said, "and the more I learned about people's conditions and the trauma of trying to decide whether to eat or pay the rent or see a doctor„I got angry, and decided I had to turn that anger in a positive direction." When her husband offered the use of the clinic building to open a free clinic, Transo sprang into action. She started by calling Sen.Dale Schultz's office, and the first of a whole series of coincidences occurred. Schultz's aide Tom Jackson said it was unusual her call would come now, because the Southwest Community Action Project (CAP) was thinking about starting a free clinic in the Boscobel area. Transo then called CAP Executive Director Wally Orzechowski and talked to him. The next day he and a Grant County Health Department representative showed up. "After that," she says "it began to happen." Orzechowski gave Robin and her husband a tour of the Dodgeville Free Clinic and later a CAP lawyer outlined the steps she needed to follow. They told her it would probably take a year to a year and a half. Transo didn't want to wait that long. "I worked eight hours a day and did it in six months," she says. A lot of that time was evenings and weekends. "Once in a while, she says, smiling, "my husband reminded me I was getting a salary from the Balance and Hearing Clinic and I needed to do some work for that." In early May she invited people over to talk about it. By the second meeting, they had an operating board of directors and a steering committee: "It was amazing„they came with a whole bunch of talents and a whole bunch of knowledge„an incredible group of people." People who'd said they didn't want to get involved would come to a meeting and then get involved anyway. Wally Orzechowski, Jeff Kindrai of the Grant County Health Department and the Bosocbel Hospital administrator Gary Bezuka, gave her a great deal of information and advice. Right at the point where it got overwhelming, Transo said, Pam Stuckey, now the clinic coordinator, showed up and announced she was there to help. Transo describes Stuckey as "a talented person who has a slew of ideas and thinks outside the box." Stuckey's appearance was only one example of people or things appearing when they were needed. Transo gives as another example Dr. Meena Maski, one of the volunteer medical staff. When Maski was growing up in India her father told her he would pay for her medical school as long as she used that training to help people. Maski and her husband, Dr. Ravikant Maski, provided many of the startup supplies for the clinic, including an exam table and an EKG machine, as well as making contacts and raising money. A day before the big August floods, Transo had talked to people in Gays Mills and heard many stories about health problems. One woman hadn't been able to afford to go to a doctor for 10 years, and had an outstanding hospital bill. "I left there thinking she was the poster child for why we're starting the free clinic," said Transo. Eight hours later the woman was being rescued from the flood and her home was destroyed. "I woke up when I heard the news thinking we have to get this clinic open. If people couldn't afford health care before, they certainly can't now." Then an East Indian dancer from Madison called and said she wanted to help. She rounded up a whole group of performers from many parts of the world who put on a concert in Boscobel. They wanted to show people they were world neighbors„they cared about the world. Transo had contacted the State Journal about the need for a free clinic, and they wrote about someone who typified the need„the Gays Mills woman who lost her house. About a week after that article appeared, Transo received a call from a man in Madison. He had read the article and was crying and said he wanted to pay all that woman's medical bills. Transo obtained the information he needed, and within two days all the hospital bills were paid. Transo had been told she needed at least $30,000 to open the clinic. Once the group reached the $12,000 mark, they set a date for opening. The date grew closer and closer; "we did six fundraisers in six weeks and we still couldn't reach it," she said. Transo had attended a Grant County Board meeting from which she was hoping to get a $10,000 grant. They had put her on the November agenda however, because the state budget hadn't been settled so they couldn't act. "I felt really downhearted because I was sure we would make our start up goal," she recalls. "I got out to the car, turned on the cell phone, and there was a message from my husband. A man had stopped and asked for a tour of the free clinic. He saw the thermometer chart was $12,000 short of the goal, so he wrote a check for $12,000." Transo called her husband back because she was sure he must have meant $1,200, which would still have been a generous contribution. Her husband reaffirmed the figure: "He wrote out the check, put it on the desk, smiled and left." The man asked to remain anonymous. The clinic, which exists to serve Crawford and Grant County residents who are uninsured or under insured, opened its doors on target, October 22, a date which bears great significance for Transo. She was born on the 22nd; she has two sons and two daughters, and the daughters arrived in the U.S. from the Ukraine on 2/22/2002. The free clinic, which operates on the lower level of the Balance and Hearing Clinic, is furnished with donated materials; however, it is anything but a repository for castoffs. Warm and inviting, it boasts two examining rooms, a conference room where patients can confer with a social worker, a cheery lobby and a comfortable waiting room. November hours are Mondays, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 5, 19, and Dec. 3 and 17 and Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to noon Nov. 3 and 17 and Dec. 1, 15 and 29. In summing up what has happened in such a short time, she says, "I guess the whole point is if instead of just complaining about the situation, we do something positive with our anger, dreams can come true, you can make a difference in the world. The first person who walked through that door October 22 made it all worthwhile." Though Transo was the catalyst and driving force behind the clinic, she credits the board and the many people who have helped with making it a reality. There is a long list of volunteer staff, consultants and many other individuals who have made it all possible. Now that this clinic is in operation, the board's long-term goal is to set up satellite clinics in other parts of Grant and Crawford Counties. Donations to reach the yearly goal of $78,000 are greatly needed and can be a tax exemption now that the clinic has its non-profit status. For more information about the clinic, call 608-375-4324 or 608-485-1498 or send any contribution to: InHealth Community Wellness Free Clinic, 109 East Bluff Street (lower level), Boscobel, Wisconsin 53805.
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