TOWER — A spaghetti feed and silent auction fundraiser for Dena Suihkonen will be held on Saturday, Nov. 22 from 2-6 p.m. at the Lamppa Civic Center in Tower. Dena was paralyzed on July 6 when the seat on a dunk tank at the Breitung Fourth of July Community Picnic malfunctioned and she fell backward. Dena was the Tower Ambulance director and had been an EMT in Tower for 15 years.
Money raised will help the family with the costs of continuing to make their Tower home more handicap-accessible, help with purchasing a wheelchair-accessible vehicle with hand controls, as well as helping with ongoing medical treatment and visits to the Mayo Clinic. Testing done during her initial hospitalization found several brain aneurisms, which need to be surgically corrected. She has another surgery scheduled to address one of the aneurisms this week, and then she will have surgery in March at the Mayo Clinic to address issues relating to her paralysis.
Dena is really looking forward to visiting with everyone who attends the fundraiser.
“I am hoping to see a lot of people I haven’t seen in a long time,” she said. “I don’t want people nervous to see me.”
Anyone who has made time to visit with Dena since the accident quickly realizes that she is still the same person, eager to connect, find out how everyone else is doing, and eager to know what is going on in the community.
“Please ask me questions, and I will answer you,” she said.
Surviving this injury has taught her how much she didn’t know about using a wheelchair, things she wished she had thought about before.
She is settling into life at home. Her youngest daughter, Libby, and grandson Carver are living with her and her husband, Tom. The couple recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. Libby works for the city’s maintenance department.
The couple’s four daughters have been spending a lot of time with Dena and helping as much as possible. And the four young grandchildren continue to make life fun and keep Dena busy.
“My grandchildren are all good,” she said. “My oldest, Odin, is my big protector, and he loves to push me around in my wheelchair. Barrett wants to sit right next to me and tell me all his stories. Sage keeps telling me I am beautiful.” Carver, the youngest, has adapted quickly to the changes, she said. While an active toddler, if he is left alone with Dena, he knows to stay close to his grandmother and not wander off.
“I am getting stronger, but it is going to take time,” Dena said. She has physical and occupational therapy in Virginia twice a week. She is becoming more independent at home, and her family has worked to make the house more accessible, making sure things she needs on a regular basis are in easier to reach spots, for example.
The city of Tower has placed Dena on unpaid administrative leave from her job as Tower’s ambulance supervisor as of Oct. 1, after her accumulated benefits, such as sick and personal leave, were used up. While she was able to perform the administrative parts of the job, it is up to the city, she said, to decide if just keeping that part of the job is okay. She also was denied workman’s compensation, according to the city, but hasn’t received any official notification to that effect, which she would need to challenge that assessment.
“They said I was volunteering,” she said, but noted the Tower Ambulance was on the scene at the event. The ambulance was there, and those staff were being paid.”
Dena was paid a salary and didn’t track hourly time.
The upcoming winter weather has her worried about a new challenge.
“Ice and snow are not going to be my friend,” she said.
With the first blast of cold weather these past few weeks, she realized she needed a new pair of winter boots.
“My feet don’t bend like they used to,” she said. “I needed boots that were easier to get into. You don’t think about all this stuff.”
Dena does have long-term worries about how her injury will affect her family financially. She will start getting Social Security disability in 2026, but that won’t replace her previous salary. A note from her physician said she might be able to return to seated work once her injury has stabilized in one to two years.
She is hoping to learn how to drive using hand controls. Right now, her license has been suspended, which seems puzzling to her.
“I wasn’t driving anyway,” she said. “I couldn’t get a car started anyway because you have to put your foot on the brake!”
Gabby Suihkonen Gross said the silent auction has received a lot of amazing donations, including fishing trips, houseboat trips, Minnesota Wild tickets, and other sports-related items. There will be plenty of baskets to bid on also. Silent auction donations can still be dropped at the Timberjay office in Tower, or call Gross for information at 218-780-1457.
Family and friends will be serving spaghetti with meat or meat-less sauce, and gluten-free pasta will be available. Cost is $12 at the door, with five and under free. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $10. All proceeds will go to the Suihkonen family. Donations can also be made through an account at the Embarrass-Vermillion Credit Union (ask for the Dena Suihkonen benefit account). A GoFundMe account is also available, to donate online, go to gofundme.com and search for “Independence Initiative: Support Dena’s Recovery.”