Despite being paralyzed from the neck down apart from the use of right arm and hand, 71-year-old El Dorado Hills resident Winston Cain never stops dreaming. Diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an irreversible lung disease that impedes normal breathing, Winston has been avidly following Sunday NASCAR races from his bed. But on March 16 he traveled to the Fontana Auto Speedway to meet his favorite NASCAR driver, Chase Elliot.

For many years, Winston did route sales for Mission Foods, enjoying the interaction with his customers and appreciating the outdoors through gardening, fishing and rock hunting. But most of all, Winston has loved NASCAR and car racing for as long as he can remember. “We’ve been married 47 years and he’s been watching NASCAR since before that,” said Winston’s wife Maureen with a laugh. Cain will be traveling to Fontana with Maureen, his daughter and son-in-law in a wheelchair-enabled van provided by Dream Foundation.

Winston was skeptical when told that an application had been submitted on his behalf. “I figured it would be a long shot,” he said. He was especially thrilled about being an announcer at the Speedway. “We just found out that I’ll get to say something at the start of the race. It might even be ‘Gentlemen start your engines.’” The family will also enjoy VIP treatment and a day full of surprises.

Janice Curtin, from Snowline Palliative Care, was the one who applied for Winston’s dream to come true. “There is something special about Winston. He gets excited and he’s extremely social,” Curtin smiled. He is the first patient for whom she has applied for a dream.

Curtin and Kate Madaus, social workers who take care of Winston, coordinate with a team of caregivers to offer pain and symptom management to patients with a terminal diagnosis, but are not on hospice. Many terminally ill patients are not open to a dream experience or, more often, their families have not recognized the patient’s condition. “Sometimes the patient knows it but the family doesn’t accept it,” said Madaus. “It’s only in cases where the whole family embraces the patient’s mortality that we can even apply for a dream.”

Some of the required conditions of Dream Foundation is that the recipient has a nine-month life expectancy and lack the resources to fulfill their dream on their own. “We were touched by Winston’s final dream request and are honored to bring it to life,” said Dani Cordaro, Dream Foundation Public Relations Consultant.

Finding accommodations that suited Cain’s accessibility needs was the most difficult part of planning his trip. “Winston is paralyzed from the neck down and uses an electric wheelchair at all times, so we needed a fully accessible hotel room with a roll-in shower and big enough door frames for him to get through,” said Elana Nelson, Winston’s dream coordinator.

“Most hotels do comply but we required a room where the beds have empty space underneath for a hover lift to fit, since Winston uses one to help him get in and out of bed. It took time to find a hotel that had all of these features and could help us make this dream come true.” Homewood Suites not only met all the needs, but was willing to donate the room as well.

Genentech, one of Dream Foundation’s mission partners, provides facilitation between the foundation and their recipients. Glory Ariche, Clinical Oncology Specialist at Genentech, said this is one of her favorite parts of working at Genentech. Although outside of her normal duties, Genentech’s partnership with Dream Foundation has allowed her to meet people like Winston. “His spirits are so high. He’s so positive and such a nice gentleman,” Ariche said. Ariche and her team from Genentech put together travel supplies for the family’s trip to Fontana.

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