Advertisement

Mom who gets help at a food bank wants therapy for her son

 
OCTAVIO JONES   |   Times  Carol Piller, 54, pose for a photo with her son Nicholas in front of the Feeding Tampa Bay food distribution center in Tampa on Wednesday, December 6, 2017. Pillar who struggles to feed her family visits several food banks throughout the month to receive groceries.
OCTAVIO JONES | Times Carol Piller, 54, pose for a photo with her son Nicholas in front of the Feeding Tampa Bay food distribution center in Tampa on Wednesday, December 6, 2017. Pillar who struggles to feed her family visits several food banks throughout the month to receive groceries.
Published Dec. 13, 2017

Carol Piller noticed the stares and heard the whispers from others in line for food aid. She was dressed nicely and had on her jewelry, and she knew the scornful question on their minds: What are you doing here?

"When you get looks from people, you feel like saying, 'What are you looking at? You don't know my story,''' she said.

Piller was interviewed prior to a recent event at Feeding Tampa Bay's warehouse in East Tampa. The charity, which supplies food for 700,000 people in 10 counties who are deemed "food insecure'' — meaning they can't always put meals on the table — has launched a "Don't Label Hunger'' campaign to counter the stigma against people who are hungry.

"When you think of someone who's hungry, you may think homeless; you may think uneducated; you may think lazy,'' said Jayci Peters, communications director for Feeding Tampa Bay. "But that is not the case, and Carol is a true testament to that.''

Piller, 54, shared her story for Holiday Hopes, the annual Tampa Bay Times series that asks readers to fulfill the wishes of those in need.

She said she and her husband, Wayne, were doing well a few years ago, despite having to pay the substantial medical costs of caring for their 13-year-old son, Nicholas, who has several health problems, among them cerebral palsy and a disorder in which his brain shuts down his breathing periodically when he's asleep. Wayne Piller has a good job as a longtime utility company mechanic, and Carol Piller worked full-time as a teacher's aide for Hillsborough County Schools.

But then she developed a tumor in her right leg that turned out to be benign, but caused considerable nerve damage. She could no longer be on her feet all day, so she had to quit her job.

Though her husband makes a good salary, she said, the money does not cover all the bills. Piller said she did not know about food pantries for the needy until a neighbor told her about one not far from her home in Ruskin.

"I went and I was kind of embarrassed,'' she said. "I was kind of embarrassed the first couple of times.''

She was self-conscious, she said, until she heard others' stories. She recalls that one woman told her that her daughter, trying to make ends meet on the salary of a schoolteacher, had to go to the food pantry.

Peters said for many people, an unexpected expense throws them off budget.

"Something happens in their lives — a medical emergency, a car breaks down, any number of things. And if they're already on a strained budget, month to month , that one little thing could be a catastrophe for them, something that puts them behind for months.''

Piller said what she really misses is the ability to provide aquatic therapy for Nicholas to strengthen weak muscles. She wishes the family had a heated therapy pool in their yard — "it doesn't have to be big'' — so Nicholas could get therapy year- round.

Keep up with Tampa Bay’s top headlines

Subscribe to our free DayStarter newsletter

We’ll deliver the latest news and information you need to know every morning.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

Piller figures she could work four hours a day and would love to find a job, she said, but her employer would have to allow her to be flexible enough to take care of her son when he needed her.

"Since he was born, my priority has been him,'' she said, "and my (employers) knew that.''

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this story. Contact Philip Morgan at pmorgan@tampabay.com.

Holiday Hopes

For the 12th consecutive year, the Tampa Bay Times presents Holiday Hopes, a series profiling people in need and giving readers a chance to help. The Times will update readers about granted wishes on Dec. 24.

The Wish

Carol Piller, 54, visits food pantries for the needy since having to quit her job because of a tumor in her leg. Her main priority is taking care of her 13-year-old son, Nicholas, who has serious health problems, including cerebral palsy and a disorder that causes his brain to shut down breathing periodically while he sleeps. Her wish is for a therapy pool for Nicholas. To help: Contact Jayci Peters at Feeding Tampa Bay, (813) 262-8448.