PITTSTON, Pa. — The Lithuanian Club on Butler Street in Pittston is empty right now, but even when it's open, manager Nichole Orwan says it feels like something's missing. That something is Paul Brooks, the president of the club, who spends a lot of time here.
"Since early December, he was diagnosed with COVID and severe pneumonia. He's been hospitalized since right before Christmas, and right around New Year's, he was put on a ventilator. And he's had his ups and downs, bumps in the road, but he's traveling the right road, the right direction for where the doctors need him and want him to be, and his doctor or his daughter Amanda has been in contact with us. She's been on Facebook giving updates to all his friends, all the community of friends that are behind him and praying for him," Orwan said.
Members are rallying to raise money and support him by hosting a fundraiser selling unbaked pizza and a bucket of wings for the Super Bowl in February. All proceeds will go to help Paul and his family pay for things since he couldn't work while in the hospital.
"I met Paul here when I used to work here back in the day, and he became my father figure, one of my great friends, and that's why I'm here to support him and let's make some money," Kim Karupovich said.
The ladies at the club say it's the least they could do for someone as funloving and caring as their friend Paul.
"Make you smile, bring you up when you're down, knows how to be there for people, good judge of character knows how to bring up when you're down, definitely, is there for everybody."
"It's sad, you know. We're all worried about them, but we're praying for him, you know. He's the guy that you don't want to see in that situation, not that you want to see anybody in that situation, but he was the one that he saw me having a bad day, he said a joke. Always usually the same joke, but always made me laugh because you knew that was my joke. And, you know, he said we're going through difficult times in our lives, and he tried to help us out in any way he possibly could," Karupovich said.