CASTLE HILLS, Texas \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
Maria Nelson is the council president of the Castle Hills Care and Rehabilitation<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is common with people with dwarfism,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are 400 types of dwarfism, and the kind I have deals with this. It is a buildup of calcium in (the) spinal column.\u201d<\/p>\n She said, doctors sadly told her there was nothing they could do and that ultimately she would no longer be able to walk.<\/p>\n \u201cI told the doctors, \u2018Heck! Can you just pour a can of Drano down my spine to clean me up!\u2019 He was like, \u2018I wish it was that easy,\u2019 she joked. So, here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n She\u2019s dealt with health complications in her entire 73-year-old life, which is why many know her as Tyger.<\/p>\n \u201cThe nickname came in 1974,\u201d she said. \u201cIt 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, \u2018You\u2019re a tiger! You can fight!\u2019 So that happened, and also, I majored in broadcast and had a radio show, so I used Tyger as a call name.\u201d<\/p>\n The name Tyger was also fitting after she suffered two strokes a few years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cMy daughter pulled me out of it,\u201d she said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t talk. I couldn\u2019t walk. I couldn\u2019t write. She pushed me. She actually grabbed me by the shoulders one day and said, \u2018Remember you are Tiger! Don\u2019t give up! Don\u2019t give up!\u2019 And I didn\u2019t give up,\u201d she smiled. \u201cAnd that is why I don\u2019t give up on my residents here.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was kind of heartbreaking at first when I checked in, but I got over it. Instead of feeling sad for myself. I said, \u2018Heck, I am going to turn it around and make something positive with it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n That positive gesture came during a cold winter.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought of the residents, and I thought they could benefit from being warm,\u201d Tyger said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Before long, Tyger started thinking about those in the community.<\/p>\n \u201cMy daughter helped me come up with the name \u2018Hats for Humanity,\u2019 which was perfect because these hats I\u2019m making covers everyone as a whole who needs them,\u201d Tyger said.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> stepped in.<\/p>\n