Buy a Beer, Help Patch Raise Money for Juliana Ramos

As a journalist, you cross paths with many different folks. Some are kind, some are rude, some resistant and some reluctant.

Then there are those who are unforgettable. The ones who stand out in your mind, grab your heart—and won't let go.

I admit that I didn't expect to feel that way about Juliana's family. I wouldn't have guessed that, in the flurry of media attention and worldwide coverage, they would even be reading the stories on this little ol' Oak Forest Patch.

But Chris Medina didn't expect that Juli wouldn't come home the night of Oct. 2, 2009. He couldn't anticipate the phone call that she'd been in a life-threatening car accident.

We were all wrong.

If there's one lesson I've learned from this family, it's just that—don't expect. Anything.

Whew. That's a tall order, isn't it? I've seldom felt quite as moved by a source or a story, as I have by this one.

I'd like to invite you to join Patch and Janet Barnes, Juliana's mom, tonight at , where Janet and I will be guest servers, for a good cause. If you're not a big tipper, maybe you can make an exception—just this once. All of my tips will go toward Juli's recovery fund—in addition to:

• 50 cents of all Miller products sold
• $4 of all 14-inch or larger pizza (all day, including lunch; eat-in, carryout, delivery)
• $1 of select shots sold by Janet & Lauren
• Raffle funds raised

And there'll be music! Big Fish Music Productions will donate their emcee skill and music to the event, while you bid on some pretty fantastic prizes, including:

• A signed Chicago White Sox Jim Thome jersey
• Sox vs. Cubs tickets
• Sox vs. Orioles tickets
• Cubs vs Pirates tickets (for April 2)
• Jermaine Dye and Andruw Jones autographed baseballs
• Photographer gift certificates
• Tickets for the April 13 Benefit with a View fundraiser
• Patch prizes!

The medical costs of Juliana's recovery are as grueling as the physical toll it takes on Juliana, and the mental toll it takes on her, her family and friends. Please join Patch as your editor shows her support of the family, and hope for Juli's recovery.

"It doesn't matter to me what's helping," Barnes said of Juli's many therapies, "as long as it's helping."

Through excruciating stretching and treatments, Barnes reminds Juli that there is light at the end of the tunnel—though that light will never shine as bright as before her accident. Barnes hopes that someday soon, her glowing girl will return.

"We believed that we were going to believe this into being," Barnes said of Juli's recovery. "This isn't going to be forever."

We hope to see you out at Blarney Stone Pub starting at 7 p.m. I'll be sporting my pink "For Juliana" t-shirt. I hope you'll come show your support for one of your own, Oak Forest.

Juli has a long way to go.