When Pam Hyde, the outgoing principal at Lincoln School in River Forest, moved from Philadelphia to the Chicago area in 1977, what struck her was the distance between the suburban homes.
“I remember thinking that it’s so much more urban here than in Philadelphia,” Hyde said in a recent interview. “Houses are closer together, so you get to know people better here. I thought, ‘Wow, everybody is so close and neighborly.’ They’re just genuine people and they take their commitments seriously.”
Hyde, an Oak Park resident, said she had admiringly observed this dynamic from afar when parents in the community would pull together to help students and families at the school in times of need. But when the spotlight of the community’s compassion focused on Hyde, it left the 67-year-old spellbound.
Hyde’s husband Arthur, a former mathematics education professor at National Lewis University, retired early himself due to complications with Parkinson’s disease. And her son David, 38, was born with a rare, debilitating muscle disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The disease, which is genetic and characterized by progressive muscle wasting, has left him on a respirator and feeding tube.
“He was born with the condition, which in many cases is hereditary,” said Hyde of her son. “But in his case it was a spontaneous mutation. No one in my [or my husband’s] family ever had it. When he was first diagnosed, they said he’d live to be about 16 years old.”
Hyde said her son’s mental clarity is excellent, but that he’s completely dependent on full-time nursing assistance, particularly at night, something her insurance won’t pay for. So in July, Hyde will retire, several years before she’d planned, to assume those nursing duties herself — and to navigate the Byzantine maze that is Illinois’s state insurance bureaucracy.
“I’m still trying to figure stuff out,” said Hyde, adding that she’s racked by a host of questions that no representative she calls can answer. For instance, for a while she wasn’t sure her son could receive Medicaid and Medicare at the same time.
“It’s very difficult to get a straight answer out of the people who represent the state,” she said. “I’ve gotten two different answers to a question within a 24-hour period. Once, I called down to Springfield and was on hold for 90 minutes before the phone went dead.”
When the members of Lincoln’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) heard that Hyde, a beloved figure at the school, was leaving and after learning the reasons behind her early departure, some parents hatched the idea to start a trust fund to cover the portion of her son’s exorbitant medical bills that won’t be absorbed by Medicaid, Medicare and supplemental insurance.
In the roughly one month since the One Community—One Hyde Trust has been established, it has attracted more than $16,000 of its stated $500,000 goal, with about a year left to reach the milestone, on the crowdfunding site YouCaring. The donations, which are non-deductible, are also being collected at any branch of Community Bank of Oak Park River Forest.
Most of the parents involved in the trust, according to several sources, have preferred to remain anonymous. And many whose names are listed among the roughly 100 supporters who have given money to the YouCaring crowdfunding site have preferred to keep the exact amounts of their donations hidden — their largesse less a public boast than a private gesture of appreciation to a woman some in the community have dubbed ‘Nurse Pam.’
“They back up their care with action,” Hyde said of the parents and community members who comprise her greater Oak Park and River Forest sphere of support. “They understand what a community is and it’s fantastic. It’s such an amazing experience. They’re the most caring, wonderful people I’ve ever come into contact with.”
The sentiment is reciprocal.
“We have all been so blessed to have you at Lincoln School as our children started on their quest for knowledge,” wrote Darla Vollrath in a YouCaring comment. “Social, academic and life lessons taught under your [guidance], have created the foundation our children build upon. This is a [life-long] gift you have given!”
Another YouCaring comment from an anonymous donor who gave $1,000, wrote:
“The Hyde’s are one of the most amazing families that I’ve had the privilege to be part of my life since I was a young child. Pam and Art treated me like one of their own growing up in Oak Park and I cannot express enough gratitude for the immeasurable impact that they have had on my life. Their kindness and generosity are matched only by their welcoming demeanor and genuine character. The Hyde’s are an inspiration to all and the world will always be a better place with them in it.”
CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com
