April 25, 2025
Two days ago, we were surprised by an email from a REquipment program user. Jennifer Bruni let us know she’d contacted her state representative about co-signing the House budget amendment to prevent a deep cut to REquipment. She’d convinced Rep Tommy Vitolo to sign on. (Thank you Rep. Vitolo!)
Ordinarily, when you call your state rep’s office, you don’t get to talk to your lawmaker. Instead, a staff member will note the purpose of your call and share the message with your legislator.
But Jennifer clearly knows Rep. Vitolo.
“He said it was a ‘big ask’ but I showed him your website and talked about my son Sandro (who Tommy knew very well) and how Sandro benefited from REquipment.”
On the Massachusetts legislature’s website, we saw that Rep. Vitolo was, indeed, Amendment #1015’s third co-sponsor. Seriously impressed, we thanked her and asked if we could share her success on social media.
“Yes,” she wrote back, “of course you can! [And here is] Sandro’s obituary just as an FYI, so you know the person you helped.”
That stopped us in our tracks.
We saw she’d written that Tommy Vitolo “knew” Sandro, not “knows” him.
Sandro, it turns out, was her beautiful son who died last month at age 23 from cancer.
REquipment had provided him with a stander and a shower chair.
Alessandro’s story reminds us how precious life is and the importance of holding loved ones close.
“He was extremely loving and fiercely loyal to his family and friends,” his obituary tells us. “His sharp intelligence, playful sense of humor, kind and generous spirit, bone-crushing hugs, and handsome face will be deeply missed by all who knew him.”
Alessandro’s obituary makes it easy to see why his mom picked up the phone to advocate for the REquipment program.
“As if fighting a deadly cancer wasn’t enough, Sandro’s multiple surgeries caused him to become paralyzed from the chest down. He underwent six weeks of radiation, followed by months of daily chemotherapy, all without complaint.’
“Over the past year and a half, Sandro faced overwhelming obstacles with the determination and courage that defined him as an athlete. Sandro regretted not being able to advocate more for the disabled community. He certainly raised our awareness of the daily difficulties and indignities that people with disabilities face.’
REquipment exists to help ease the difficulties experienced by individuals with disabilities and families like the Brunis. And REquipment exists because of the love, trust, and care shared in this community.
Someone (perhaps reading this) donated an EasyStand Evolv Stander, and someone else donated a rolling shower chair. Perhaps they’d lost loved ones, too, and wanted their equipment to have a second life to help someone else. In this case, that person was Sandro.
REquipment has the honor of introducing you to one another.
Let’s ensure that more families like the Brunis can avoid insurance hoops and hassles when they most need to spend quality time together.
Please call your state representative and ask them to help co-sign Amendment #1015. Help prevent a devastating $500,000 cut to the REquipment program. (Learn how and more about this proposed cut.)
