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By Kent Larsen
LDS Stake Assists Mugging Victim
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA -- When a San Jose, California handicapped mugging
victim vented her frustrations on the Internet, LDS Church members in
Washington state were listening and soon got a local San Jose stake
involved with providing assistance. Jamie Welton-Parham was mugged September
7th by a man who stole her purse and in the process broke her only good arm.
Welton-Parham has suffered from debilitating rheumatoid arthritis since age
three and has been confined to a wheelchair since age 12. On September 7th
she was returning with her 12-year-old daughter from the store when a man
ran by the chair and grabbed her purse. The purse's strap got tangled on
Welton-Parham's arm so that she could not let go. But the thief continued
pulling. "He really pulled," Welton-Parham said. "I tried to let go of the
purse, but I couldn't and I heard the bone snap." She suffered a spiral
fracture in her left arm, her only limb free of disease, about two inches
above the elbow.
With a cast on the arm, Welton-Parham is no longer able to function like she
once did. She can't cook meals or care for her five-month-old infant or her
three-year-old son.
But she is able to communicate online. Welton-Parham vented her difficulties
to one online women's group that included LDS Church members in Washington
state. One of the women then contacted her Bishop, who then got in touch
with the local stake in San Jose. Now, LDS Church volunteers visit
Welton-Parham regularly, helping her care for her children. Welton-Parham's
Catholic parish also brings in meals for the family three nights a week.
Source:
Thief breaks mother's good arm
San Jose CA Mercury News 7Nov00 D1
By Betty Barnacle: Mercury News
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