Sharon Simmons has been a massively motivated volunteer in every community she has lived in for the 30 years I have known her. It was always done with a huge smile and upbeat words of encouragement for others regardless of what may have been happening in her personal life. Sharon carried all of that by herself. Now Sharon could use some help with an upcoming surgery. On April 6th she is scheduled to have surgery to connect her L3 to T11 for stability and to keep her from going back one vertabrae at a time every few years. It is a serious surgery with a recovery that will make her initially unable to drive or do basic things at home like prepare food. Sharon will be at St Petes in Olympia April 6 thru 9 then return to her new location in Hoquiam. Sharon recently downsized to a duplex in preparation for this procedure. We all have an opportunity now to give back to our dear friend Sharon. Sharon's surgery will make the smallest daily tasks seem insurmountable. Her grandson Ethan is staying with her to help for 3 weeks when every movement hurts. Cooking is not his strong suit. What we can do to help is make sure she has warm meals to eat during her recovery. Meals can be dropped off or ordered thru delivery services. Not having to worry about feeding herself or her grandson Ethan will take a huge load off her shoulders. Sharon's dietary restrictions are listed below. If our dear Sharon has lightened your load thru her eternally optimistic personality or thru her volunteer work please consider taking this opportunity to help her. She would never ask for help. Its not in her makeup to ask. I worked on her for months until she agreed to let me publish this. Thank you for reading it! HOW TO HELP: Please sign up on the calendar for the day that is most convenient for you. Delivering a meal if you are on the harbor, sending a gift card for food delivery if you aren't, or an instacart card Sharon can use for Ethan to prepare something simple or perhaps some snacks are all great ideas! If the tough economy makes those options difficult Sharon would be thrilled to receive a card in the mail to cheer her up and let her know people care. Getting anything personal in the mail is always a morale boost! She requests no phone calls the first 2 weeks as sleep will be difficult but texts & emails are great! ABOUT SHARON: While living at the beach Sharon volunteered with Grays Harbor Fire Department #11 and both Westport Fire Department and South Beach Ambulance. She was involved in every Chamber of Commerce where she lived. In Grayland she was the Grays Harbor County Water Commissioner District 1 where she played a big part in cleaning up and fixing the towns water issues. Sharon was involved with multiple organizations including Professional Women of WA & CO, International Federation of Business and Professional Women, and CEDAW. This was all in addition to starting Beachyday Vacation rentals where she provided a fair wage for her employees long before fair wages were a talking point. Sharon relocated to Colorado to help her aging mother. While in Colorado Sharon maintained her participation in the above national organizations as well as being on the Human Relations Commission for the City of Boulder, CO and her local Chamber of Commerce. When her mother passed Sharon returned to be closer to her family in Grays Harbor County.
Sharon has a few dietary restrictions. She cannot have: Gluten, Honey, Cinnamon, White Rice, or Dairy (except for hard cheddar cheese which she likes a lot!) Some things she is partial to are: Burgers with gluten free buns from The Ale House in Hoquiam CADO avocado non dairy dessert Dairy free yogurt especially lemon or lime Trader Joes Purple Veggie Drink or any homemade smoothie without a lot of fruit or sugar. Coffee is a real treat, Decaf, sugar free, dairy free latte blended like a shake or iced. She likes snickers flavor or something along those lines. Please feel free to contact Sharon for ideas. She will be cooped up at home and she'd love to hear from you. She requests only text or email the first 2 weeks after surgery not knowing what her sleep schedule will look like.