CASTLE HILLS, Texas – A woman living in a nursing home is sharing love and warmth with the community one stitch at a time ahead of the colder months.
Maria Nelson is the council president of the Castle Hills Care and Rehabilitation.
At just 47 inches tall, and with a lot of spunk, she has been a nursing home resident due to her condition of Spinal Stenosis progressing, making it difficult for her to walk.
“It is common with people with dwarfism,” she said. “There are 400 types of dwarfism, and the kind I have deals with this. It is a buildup of calcium in (the) spinal column.”
She said, doctors sadly told her there was nothing they could do and that ultimately she would no longer be able to walk.
“I told the doctors, ‘Heck! Can you just pour a can of Drano down my spine to clean me up!’ He was like, ‘I wish it was that easy,’ she joked. So, here we are.”
She’s dealt with health complications in her entire 73-year-old life, which is why many know her as Tyger.
“The nickname came in 1974,” she said. “It was my first spinal surgery. I was in college in another state, and the doctor allowed all of my friends to come in and talk to me because he said that would help get me out of a coma. One of the guys told me, ‘You’re a tiger! You can fight!’ So that happened, and also, I majored in broadcast and had a radio show, so I used Tyger as a call name.”
The name Tyger was also fitting after she suffered two strokes a few years ago.
“My daughter pulled me out of it,” she said. “I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t write. She pushed me. She actually grabbed me by the shoulders one day and said, ‘Remember you are Tiger! Don’t give up! Don’t give up!’ And I didn’t give up,” she smiled. “And that is why I don’t give up on my residents here.”
When Tyger entered a nursing home, she said she started knitting for therapeutic reasons, but then she noticed her fellow residents could use more warmth.
“It was kind of heartbreaking at first when I checked in, but I got over it. Instead of feeling sad for myself. I said, ‘Heck, I am going to turn it around and make something positive with it.’”
That positive gesture came during a cold winter.
“I thought of the residents, and I thought they could benefit from being warm,” Tyger said. “I started giving out my hats. And then you know, people who are in dialysis are in there, and it is super cold. The residents will have their blankets while getting their dialysis, and I would go every week asking how many patients they had and would give away hats.”
Before long, Tyger started thinking about those in the community.
“My daughter helped me come up with the name ‘Hats for Humanity,’ which was perfect because these hats I’m making covers everyone as a whole who needs them,” Tyger said.
Her goal is to have an organization take her hat donations to give out to the people they serve, and that is where the SA Hope Center stepped in.
SA Hope Center empowers the community to gain economic stability, working closely with people in challenging circumstances.
The organization said it was a no-brainer to collect Tyger’s hat donations for its boutique, located at 321 North General McMullen.
They are encouraging anyone who needs a free hat to visit their location.
“It is so wonderful,” Tyger said, thankful for the SA Hope Center. “I am lucky because I am in a nursing home, but some of us are not fortunate, and they need warmth.”
In about a year and a half, Tyger has made close to 3,000 hats, and she’s not stopping yet.
“There are three places on your body that need to stay warm,” Tyger said. “Your head, your feet, and your hands. So now I am also working on mittens.”
She’s asking the community for donations of yarn.
“I love working with Mainstay #4 yarn by Walmart,” she said. “I can use any kind of #4 yarn, but this kind is Walmart’s house brand, and it is easier and glides smoother. But again, any medium #4 as long as it is soft. I want the hats to be comfortable for people when they wear them.”
To help Tyger’s mission for her Hats for Humanity cause, send your donations to Castle Hills Rehabilitation and Care Center at 8020 Blanco Rd, San Antonio, TX 78216.
“It is simple things like a hat that really means so much to those who don’t have as much as I do,” Tyger said as she got emotional. “I am blessed to have a good family and good support and excellent staff here, and I will probably spend my last days in this place. So knitting these hats makes me feel good all over.”
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