I would like to ask all of you for your prayers and smiles in support of one of BUZZ Robotics (175) founding and key mentors, Jim(my) “Hodge” Hodrinsky. Our Drive/transmission systems’ guru and all around great teacher and mentor has been in Hartford Hospital for quite a fews weeks now waiting for a heart transplant. He has had many set-backs with his weakening heart but is a true fighter.
Please pray that he remains stable and that perfect heart comes at the perfect time!
Thank you for posting this. I knew Jim from my time on Aces High and my internships at HSSSI interacting with 175. I’m so sad to hear he is in the hospital! My thoughts are with him & we hope & pray for a new heart quickly!
From all of us here on 103 we’re praying for Jim. Some of us have known Jim for awhile and he is a great guy. We hope a heart comes soon for him. Buzz holds a special place in my heart. I hope everything goes well and Jim gets back on his feet. If there is anything 103 or I can do, please let us know.
I’ve known Jim since I was a little kid, when my friend and I decided to glom onto 175 in Epcot- the year they won Chairmans!- since our parents were busy volunteering. What a great guy. He’s in my thoughts, and I hope a heart comes to him soon.
All of us at 176 send our thoughts and prayers to 175 and Hodge. If you need anything from your sister team across the river, we’re just a few miles away.
We all (of course) send our best wishes for a positive solution (i.e., a donated heart). Most of us are still using ours, and so can’t be so generous at the moment.
Since we never know when our “time is up”, why not consider being generous with your heart (and other parts) once you’re done with it? MOST of us are NOT organ donors, and some have quite good reasons for that. But if you have no moral or religious objections, I humbly ask you: Consider checking off that box on your drivers license, consider informing your family and loved ones that you ARE willing to donate your organs to someone (like Jimmy). Laziness is not a good reason.
I mean, consider: Once you are dead, you’re dead. But, imagine, parts of you can live on for many years. Yes, we’ll miss your conversation, humor and skills, but we’ll be able to point at someone and still be pointing at you. Alive.
A young lady from one of our High Schools had recently received a liver from an unfortunate teen whose family, stricken with grief, still decided it would be a fitting tribute. In January, her life expectancy was measured in weeks. Now she is back at school, expected to live a normal lifespan. (Maybe we can get her to join the team?)
Sorry for the long post, but even if one of you signs up, it’s a victory. Thanks.
Hodge has been having a lot of ups and downs over the past couple of weeks. I won’t go into details, as that is private for the family and a select few friends and relatives. Suffice it to say Jim is an amazing patient:) He has pulled through some pretty low points and is currently on the mend after the latest set back. He actually ate some food over the weekend which is HUGE.
I’ll send my best wishes, but to reiterate Don… don’t just send good thoughts… sign up to be an organ donor, and encourage your friends to be organ donors.
When I first met my wife’s uncle, an active athlete and firefighter, he was on death’s door because of a virus that had attacked his heart.
After a transplant in 1999 he has been actively engaged in promoting organ donation by showing just how much you can do after a transplant.
Just an update on Hodge. He is finally back on transplant 1A status and has one of those heart assist pumps to keep the blood churning! He miraculously made it through the last few months with infections, etc. Once the heart becomes available, it should be smooth sailing!!!
BUZZ ROBOTICS would like to let all the CT FIRST Teams know about and support us (and Hodge) with this year’s American Heart Association Heartwalk – Saturday – October 23rd. See www.hartfordheartwalk.org.
