Julien's Journal November 2015 (Volume 40, Number 11) | Page 34

My Mother,
into a rehabilitation facility and unable
to return home. I was informed by her
doctors that she would need a higher
level of care and needed to be placed in
an assisted living facility with nursing
services.
The physical distance between us during
this time was proving difficult. We both
wished for her to be close to family here
in Dubuque. However, we discovered
that it would cost close to $20,000 to
medically transport her by air ambulance
from Philadelphia to Dubuque. We were
stunned.
I was still in Philadelphia attending to my
mother when, at the “All the Way Home”
Tri-State Veterans Conference, my wife
Diane began chatting with a man named
Marvin Ney. While speaking with him,
she learned that he was the director of
operations at Paramount Ambulance, a
company owned by his wife, Maria Ney.
After one simple conversation about our
problematic situation, Marvin took the
reins.

Left: Bob Bucko as a child with
his mother Anna.
Right: Marvin Ney; Paramount
Ambulance

Aging parents are a challenge faced by
everyone at some point in time. As an only
child, when my mother began to age and
could no longer live alone, the weight of
the situation fell solely on my shoulders.
During this time, I was shown true
kindness and a genuine caring that seems
to be a trait that we, as Midwesterners,
take for granted.
My mother, Anna Bucko, was living in
Philadelphia, almost 1,000 miles away
from my home in Dubuque, Iowa, and
was in declining health. With the support
of her Catholic Christian community
in Philadelphia, my mother was able to
continue interacting with her church
groups and still spend quality time with
her friends. Unfortunately, her medical
issues became too severe. She was moved

32  ❖  Julien’s Journal  ❖  November 2015

Diane explained to Marvin that although
we felt my mother was medically stable
and fit to fly, we did not feel comfortable
with her traveling without some sort of
medical escort.
Within hours of his conversation with
Diane, Marvin had made air travel plans
for himself and my mother for the next
day. He then called to advise me on the
proper arrangements I would need to
make to have my mother discharged and
he flew to Philadelphia that afternoon.
The next morning my mother and I met
Marvin at the Philadelphia International
Airport. When we pulled up to the
terminal, Marvin was waiting on the
curbside, with wheelchair in hand, ready
to escort my mother back home.
Although my mother could walk with
assistance, she was no longer able to stand
on her own. Marvin introduced himself