Posted on June 19, 2015
Bob and Cyndi Kamps thrive & give back while living their ‘New Normal’
“Instead of putting alarms on everything and giving him a bed that is pretty much on the floor, they make sure an actual human is watching him all the time. It’s hard to describe how wonderful that is. Bob deserves the best and he’s getting the best at MFB.” – Excerpt from “Our New Normal” by Cyndi Kamps
Four years ago, Bob Kamps was patching potholes in Kalamazoo County when he
and a coworker were struck by an oncoming vehicle.
Bob experienced a traumatic brain injury that eventually landed him at Mary Free Bed for two months in the summer of 2011.
Since his time as a Mary Free Bed inpatient, Bob also has been an outpatient, an adaptive golfer through Wheelchair and Adaptive Sports and a part of the Home & Community Services program.
“From the time we first came here, we made a connection with Mary Free Bed. We’ve been building relationships ever since,” says Bob’s wife, Cyndi.
About once a week, Bob and Cyndi are back at Mary Free Bed stuffing envelopes for a fundraiser, escorting new patients to their rooms or helping fold and organize MFB apparel.
“It gets me out of the house,” says Bob.
“And it’s something for us to do together,” adds Cyndi.
They also share a commitment to supporting Mary Free Bed financially.
“We feel pretty fortunate to have Mary Free Bed in our lives,” Cyndi says.
This spring, Cyndi self published a first-person account of the family’s rehabilitation journey. “Our New Normal: A Journal of Tragedy, Hope, and Inspiration” follows Bob and Cyndi’s lives from February 2011 through May 2012. The book is available in paperback via Amazon.
