2020 virtual recipients

The Szmansky Family

Layana Szmansky is a sweet and joyful two-year old who loves Moana and Disney.  She has a huge smile and a contagious laugh. Layana’s life began prematurely when she was born at 28 weeks in Mott’s Children’s Hospital. After her birth, she spent an additional 144 days in the hospital diagnosed with vocal cord paralysis as well as hypotonic cerebral palsy. Vocal cord paralysis is a complete absence of vocal cord movement, restricting her ability to breathe and talk. Hypotonic cerebral palsy causes her muscles, primarily in her arms, legs, and neck, to be overly weak and loose, leaving Layana unable to fully control or hold up her head or limbs. Layana had throat reconstruction in October 2019, but still can’t breathe without her tracheotomy, which is a breathing tube inserted into her trachea below the part of her paralyzed throat. Layana also has a G tube for feeding since she cannot take food or drink by her mouth. She goes to three therapy sessions each week: speech, occupational, and physical. Since birth, Layana has spent every major holiday in the hospital and has been in the hospital more days than she has spent at home. Layana attends Plymouth-Canton’s Early On Special Education Program at Allen. Layana’s mom, Bobbi, is a single mother who works at Spoon’s Place and will do anything for Layana, “It’s hard, but I make it work,” Bobbi said. On top of Layana’s condition, Bobbi has a heart condition, making it harder to constantly be on her feet to make ends meet and care for Layana. Bobbi sees herself as an independent individual, aside from the help she receives from her sister and mom. She is used to handling challenges on her own, but she would appreciate support from our community.

The Suszkiewicz Family

Jonathan Suszkiewicz was born with spina bifida. When Jonathan was born, he was transferred right away to Children’s Hospital of Detroit. He had to have back surgery at birth. A few days later, he had to have a tube inserted into his ventricles in his brain. This tube controls the fluid in his brain and releases it into his stomach. Because of his condition, Jonathan has no feeling from his middle thigh down. As a child, he had to have many surgeries when this tube would malfunction. Jonathan also used a walking device until he went to middle school. The RGO (walking device) was hard to use to switch classes, so he started using a wheelchair.

Jonathan now attends Plymouth High School. Despite the challenges that he faces, Jonathan is able to excel at what he loves. He is a huge fan of wheelchair basketball and has played since he was in second grade. Currently, Jonathan plays for a team called the Motor City Wheelz. This is a co-ed travel wheelchair basketball team that plays throughout the Midwest. Jonathan dreams of continuing his passion through college. This involves hunting for schools that offer wheelchair basketball programs. Jonathan’s dream looks to be becoming a reality, as he already has an offer from a school in Pennsylvania.  Besides basketball, Jonathan also enjoys a variety of sports such as tennis, archery, and fishing. Jonathan is working toward the independence expected for a typical teenager. The first step to achieving this goal is through driving. In order to drive, he has to get his car equipped with hand controls, as well as take special drivers training courses. The special equipment that Jonathan’s goal requires is cost-prohibitive, making it yet another hurdle that other teens without special needs do not encounter.

The Gorski Family

Greg Gorski is the father of three children within the Plymouth-Canton community, Morgan, Tyler and Brandon. Morgan is currently a junior at Plymouth High School while Tyler and Brandon were football players and graduated from Plymouth in 2016; all attended Discovery and Bentley. Morgan used to play soccer and cheer for Plymouth, but she sacrificed her involvement to care for her dad. As Morgan said, “Our lives have unexpectedly taken a left turn. One year ago, I was just like everyone else my age, my life was that of a normal teen.”

Greg Gorski suffers from liver cancer, called cirrhosis, which is scarring of liver tissue and type-2 diabetes. Greg currently visits the doctor twice a week for paracentesis to drain the fluid build-up caused by his liver. Brandon volunteered to be a liver donor but was not accepted, leaving Greg currently waiting on the transplant list. Greg’s condition leaves him fatigued and weak from muscle loss, he is dependent on his children for care and mobility. The time spent caring for Greg and his illness is emotionally and physically draining for the family, not to mention time consuming. Greg is unable to work, but his children all have jobs within the community: Tyler works at Kroger, Brandon works at Horton Plumbing, and Morgan works at Goldfish Swim School. The Gorskis are huge sports fans who love family time at sporting events. Since Greg can no longer attend games, Tyler and Brandon have stepped in to continue the tradition with their sister. Greg’s girlfriend, Suzette, has bonded with the family, and helps with logistic and emotional support. The family continues to take it one day at a time and will not go down without a fight. On February 24th, 2020, Greg was chosen for a liver transplant. Although the transplant was successful, there is still a long road of recovery ahead.

The Rosowski Family

“It’s very difficult to go through a crisis, but you don’t have a choice. You just plow through it and fight,” said Mark Rosowski. If anyone knows the depths of a crisis, it’s the Rosowski family. Rachel, Mikey’s mother, had stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Despite her own battle with cancer, she was always there for Mikey. As said by her mom and husband, she put up a fight until the very end. “She was a fighter,” Rachel’s mom said. Sadly, on January 14th of 2020, she passed away in the hospital after suffering a pulmonary embolism. Rachel will be missed by many, including her family, co workers at Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital, and her church members at Radiant Church in Ann Arbor. Above all, her five-year-old Mikey will forever remember his mom and the close bond that they shared and the special way she cared for him. In April of 2018, Mikey, who currently goes to Field Elementary, developed Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), which causes blood vessels in the body to become inflamed and start to leak. This can affect kidneys, joints, and the digestive tract. HSP left Mikey’s body unable to retain water. Soon after the diagnosis, Mikey went into kidney failure and he coded requiring immediate resuscitative efforts. Mikey had a seizure in August of 2019. He is currently in remission; however, his kidneys’ are currently functioning at 50%. In his free time, Mikey loves to watch Disney movies, especially Toy Story. The Rosowski are car enthusiasts, Mikey’s father works for Ford Motor Company and they attend the Woodward cruise and the Mustang show on 9 Mile every year. The Rosowski family always comes in strong and pulls through, no matter how hard it may get.

The Milleville Family

“One of the things we’ve realized is how hard and humbling it is to accept help. But how can anyone give to others if no one is willing to receive help?” said Lori Milleville. 

On the night of May 29, 2019, the unthinkable happened. Greg Milleville went out for a jog and didn’t return home. He suffered a heart attack and collapsed. He was alone for 5 minutes until he was discovered by a couple who were just arriving home. Due to the amount of time without oxygen, Greg suffered an anoxic brain injury which placed him in the ICU for 2 weeks and then a sub-acute floor. After a long hospital stay, he currently resides in a skilled nursing facility where he is dependent on full-time care. He is in great need of therapy. The Milleville family has been battling the insurance company to get therapy for him and is now pursuing a variety of alternative options.

Greg worked from home for both AT&T and IBM; his interests include computers and tech, and he is a big fan of U of M. Greg was also in the US Navy for six years. Greg and his family are huge Disney World fans, and had been planning a 25th wedding anniversary celebration trip for 2021. They are members of Ward Church in Northville, where Greg and Lori first met. Greg graduated from Salem in 1984. Greg’s son, Bobby, is currently a senior at Canton where he marches with the Plymouth-Canton Marching Band and plays in the Jazz Band. Greg’s other son, Jimmy, is a 2018 graduate of Canton. He currently attends the University of Michigan where he is a member of the Marching Band and is heavily involved in Cru.

The family described what they feel as “ambiguous grief”, grieving someone who is still there but isn’t anything like they were. It is difficult to grasp the fact that they have lost their loved one as they knew him. Greg’s family describes him as a loving, family-oriented man. “Everyone has their story. God is using this in more ways than we can see. That’s one of the big things getting me through this,” Lori said.