Strangers send cards to Elgin man with Alzheimer's, Down syndrome

Scott Homola loves walking to the mailbox outside his Elgin home, sifting through the mail and spotting his name on an envelope.

His name is the only thing the 57-year-year old, who has Down syndrome, can read, and he's been doing a whole lot of that in the past few months. He's received more than 100 cards from as far as Hawaii and Germany thanks to a "kindness project" spread via Facebook.

"For people to think of him and do that ..." said Homola's older sister, Debra Schaffer. "It just gives me goose bumps that they are so kind."

Homola's 58th birthday is Monday, and the project is especially touching because this might be the last one he will remember due to his Alzheimer's disease, Schaffer said. "He's losing it day by day," she said. "It's hard to watch."

Homola displayed his trademark shyness around strangers during an interview Friday, answering questions with a silent smile, or lone words like "good." He gently petted the family's dog, Molly, and at one point dozed off.

The card initiative was started by Schaffer's former classmate at Glenbard North High School, Susan Novak Newell, who lives in Washington state and has a grandson with Down syndrome.

Novak Newell met Homola at a high school reunion in 2014, and was charmed by his humor - when he was asked his age, he said "about 100" - and how much he enjoyed dancing with her and her classmates.

"I began to give thought to what I could do to make a difference not only in (my grandson) Skyler's life after he was born, but in the lives of people with Down syndrome," she said. "The idea came to me that it could be Scott."

Novak Newell posted on Facebook in early October, encouraging family and friends to send cards to Homola and to spread the word. The first card arrived in the mail three weeks later; then he started getting Christmas cards, and now birthday cards.

Homola lived with his parents all his life until he moved in with Schaffer six years ago; their father died in 1992 and their mother in 2012. "He has no concept of death," Schaffer said. "Every day he asks, 'How come mom and dad can't come home?' "

Her brother, who functions at the level of a 3- to 7-year-old, has been a great roommate, always easy going and helpful, such as when she recovered from back surgeries, Schaffer said.

He loves blowing bubbles and collects Matchbox cars, which he nestles among pillows during the week "so they can sleep" and plays with on weekends.

He's had health issues in recent years, such as a blood clot in his lung and several bouts of pneumonia, but he's lived much longer than their parents were told to expect, she said. Life expectancy for people with Down syndrome has increased dramatically in recent decades, from 25 years in 1983 to 60 today, according to the National Down Syndrome Society.

"With the Alzheimer's, it's only lately that he gives me a little bit of sassiness," Schaffer said. "We've maybe raised our voices once or twice in all these years."

Schaffer is collecting her brother's cards for a scrapbook that he helps decorate with stickers. She also keeps track of where they come from with push pins on a map of the United States, placing them on the edges when they come from abroad or "the North Pole."

Homola also has received letters, including from mothers of U.S. Marines and from English as a second language students at College of DuPage.

"This thing is just amazing," Schaffer said.

Anyone who wants to contribute to this "kindness project" can mail cards to Scott Homola, 200 block of Parkwood Road, Elgin, IL 60123.