THANK YOU Red Bull AUSTRIA!

2008-03-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

In the beginning of 2008 Red Bull Austria has donated €10.000 to the cause of Marcos' rehabilitation. Earlier, Marcos has been the tour guide to some of Red Bull's employees during their trip to Argentina; just as during the time when Marcos was healthy he continues offering outdoor trips (on his wheelchair) and they were so impressed by his enthusiasm and positivity that they went back to Austria, communicated Marco's story to their company and decided to support his recovery with a donation of 10.000 Euros.

A BIG "Dankscheen"

to Red Bull

Austria!

2007-12-26T14:29:00.000-08:00

Message from Marcos:

"TO ALL OF YOU: THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I am writing to all the people who helped me and my family in our very uncertain situation! It surprised me and made me very happy because I can do my rehabilitation in the right way and I am in professional hands now.
THE SOLIDARITY ATTITUDE from people who know me and even more from people who don´t know me is unbelievable and is one BIG reason more to keep fighting, with the goal to walk again as quickly as it is possible.I hope, I will be making my first small walking by next month. I am doing my first steps already now! I will send you more pictures about my evolution.
THANKS TO EVERYBODY AROUND THE WORLD WHO HELPED ME! THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Saludos, Marcos."

2007-10-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
It's been a minute since I last updated you on Marcos' progress, but I received the news and pictures on his recovery only last week!
Marcos seems to be doing a lot better: he doesn't get "domestic therapy" anymore, but is able to get into his wheelchair and a cab and go to the respective clinic on his own; there he does agua-therapy and personalized exercises to strengthen the muscles, his spine, re-establish his balance/equilibrium to slowly bring him back into a vertical position...
Meanwhile his family has received US$4000 to pay for his further treatment and we'll wait until the beginning of next month to send the third part as there need to be several weeks in between to not have to justify the large amounts of money legally.
Again, I am deeply grateful for your support and please see some pictures of Marcos' rehab below...

Paragliding collision

2007-08-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

To everyone visiting this page, thank you for taking your time to care!

Very recently my dear friend and former paragliding instructor got into a horrible accident in several hundred metres during a tandem-flight in Cuchi Corral (La Cumbre , Argentina). The last 30 metres were a free fall and miraculously he survived.
After a 7-hour surgery and many weeks in the hospital he is doing a lot better now - at least from the waist up. Unfortunately due to severe damages of his vertebral column he is now paralized on both legs.
The good news is: the legs have not lost their entire sensitivity, so there is still hope that with rehabilitation Marcos might be able to walk one day again.
The bad news is: his health insurance does not cover any of the treatment costs!

The cost for rehabilitation for 6 months reaches the total minimum of 24000 Argentine Pesos, which are about US$7605 - an unaffordable amount for his family, but with a little bit of help it COULD be possible!
The treatment needs to begin as quickly as possible, so the nerves that are still active do not lose their function...

For those of you who feel they are able to donate any little bit, please do! The smallest amounts will add up to help us reach the sum that will be necessary to help him get back on his feet!

I would like to thank you most sincerely for taking your time to read this... and am grateful for every bit of support!

Aleks
(aleks@kaffeeschluerfer.com)

For donations, please click on the "make a donation"- button to the right or follow this link:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=aleks%40kaffeeschluerfer%2ecom&no_shipping=0&no_note=1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;tax=0¤cy_code=EUR&lc=US&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF&charset=UTF%2d8

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For those of you that would like to have a look at newspaper articles from the accident (unfortunately only in Spanish) or to know more about the details, please see below.

http://espanol.upi.com/Titulares/2007/07/02/en_argentina_parapentistas_en_grave_estado_tras_chocar_con_ala_delta/5661/

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/922308

http://www.lavozdesanjusto.com.ar/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6616&Itemid=2)

During a tandem-flight in Córdoba (Argentina) about 1 1/2 months ago para-gliding instructor Marcos Aprile and his student came into collision with a hangglider, who was an uncertified beginner. Their canopy deflated and as a result of this crash, they precipitated the ground from an altitude of 30m.
They survived; the student fell onto the instructor and "only" suffered several broken ribs and a concussion, the instructor however suffered severe damages of his vertebral column. He needed to undergo very delicate surgeries, but came round and is now picking up courage to be able to walk one day again. Unfortunately, his health insurance only covered the most necessary surgery and now that he is not in peril of his life anymore he needed to leave the public hospital and they are not willing to cover any more costs for rehabilitation, which would be absolutely essential if he is ever to walk again.

Would it not be for the fact that the paragliding and climbing lessons the instructor offers are his only source of income, we wouldn't be so desperate to try to find a way to help him....

Wednesday, 12. September 2007

First US$2000 sent to Argentina!

Conventional Argentine bank accounts do not accept international money transfers and after looking for a possibility to transfer the money at a lower price, Western Union turned out to be the most expensive, yet only option. As there seems to be a limit as to how much the receiver can get in a given time without having to justify it legally I sent US$2000, with the second installment of US$2000 following in a couple of weeks.

And now for a word about Marcos' condition!
He got out of the hospital last week to go back home to his family, where he spent the first couple of days almost exclusively abed. A nurse and a physiotherapist are seeing him every day and even though he is able to use the wheelchair by now, he was not able to go to an internet cafe as yet (for those of you who asked about a personal message from him...). I haven't been in personal contact with him myself either, but his family is trying to keep us up to date as much as possible!

Now some really good news, which might seem minor, but are crucial nonetheless: the other day Marcos managed to move his toes on both legs! He is doing exercises in a horizontal position as for now, but as soon as his physical condition allows they are going to start with exercises in the swimming pool...

His family was moved to tears upon receiving the first amount of money, so again Thank You So Very Much - You are helping to remedy not only Marcos' but his whole family's life!

Paragliding Accident in Argentina

THANK YOU Red Bull AUSTRIA!

Paragliding collision