Hampton Rallying Around Determined Brain Injury Survivor

It started two and a half years ago, during a typical day and a typical night out at a restaurant with friends.

Little did Melissa Feinberg know, though, that the night was anything but average, as the Hampton native and veteran flight attendant slipped into a coma not long after experiencing the most intense headache of her life.

That's when everything changed.

Upon waking in a trauma center in Florida, Feinberg, now 38, suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is a rare genetic type of ruptured brain aneurysm involving a bleed between the outer part of the brain and the skull.

The traumatic brain injury rendered Feinberg a paraplegic, although those who know her say she's been defying the odds through each step of her recovery, which hasn't kept Feinberg's spirits down. Family and friends also expect those high spirits to only go up over the course of the next month as they attempt to further her recovery with the aid of a service dog.

Deb Sirois, a Dover woman who has served as a caregiver for Feinberg, is spearheading efforts to raise money to purchase a service dog from NEADS, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that raises dogs for individuals and veterans with mobility and sensory impairment and other issues. Sirois said the dog will only help the highly-motivated and "talkative" Feinberg feel "more independent," as well as help Feinberg continue the progress she's made.

"Doctors didn't think she'd ever live," said Sirois, who added that Feinberg has regained movement in her right arm. "They didn't think she'd talk, but she's talking up a storm. The doctors can't believe she's functioning the way she is. She's very coherent and attentive, and she's determined to walk."

The cost of the dog is $30,000 — $13,521 of which has been raised to date, said Sirois. Sirois said Feinberg "only has to raise part of it, but the more she can raise the better," which is why they've reached out to the Community Oven for inclusion in the Hampton business' highly-successful Community Mondays series, which has in the past year for various charities.

Sirois and she and NEADS will host a raffle-filled benefit night for Feinberg and her family at the Community Oven on Monday, May 6, from 5 to 9 p.m. Fifteen percent of all sales at the Community Oven on May 6 will go toward raising money for a dog for Feinberg.

Residents and local businesses have also donated raffled prizes and gift certificates for the event, including items from and for the Victoria Inn, Pure Salon and Spa, Applebee's, Margaritas, Prasada Yoga Center, Treehouse Toys in Portsmouth, Papa Wheelies Bike Shop in Portsmouth, the Galley Hatch, the Hampton Veterinary Hospital, and M the Dog Spa. Sirois said dogs from NEADS and Feinberg herself will be on hand to interact with residents to help put a face to a story that has inspired many on the Seacoast.

Sirois said a service dog would help Feinberg turn on the lights, get food and drinks from her refrigerator, retrieve dropped items, and call 911, among other things. These simple actions have the potential to give Feinberg an entirely new level of control in her recovery, which is why Sirois and Feinberg's family are tremendously excited about the May 6 benefit night.

Feinberg's story also has inspired her family to get examined for aneurysms, and Sirois said tests have revealed that Feinberg's mother also has several, but also that only two are removable through open surgery.

This news and other steps of the process haven't been easy for the Feinbergs, which is part of the reason Sirois said she's looking forward to throwing a big community event for a family with whom she's grown close.

"The family is just amazing, how they keep on going and going," said Sirois.

More information about Feinberg's story and NEADS is available here, while information on the Community Oven's Community Mondays series can be found on the business' website.

UPDATE: Here's a list of some of the various raffle items — roughly 50 in total — up for grabs, according to Sirois:

Tickets are $1.00 each, or 10 tickets for $5.00.
1. Boston Red Sox baseball bat signed by Jacoby Ellsbury!
2. Boston Bruins hockey puck signed by Andrew Ference, #21
3. Patriots football signed by Sam Bam Cunningham (New England Patriots Hall of Fame and College
Football Hall of Fame)
4. Four tickets to the NH 300 NASCAR races in Loudon, NH
5. Friendship Membership to Strawbery Banke Museum ($150 value)
6. Two tickets to the Ogunquit Playhouse ($124 value)
7. Two tickets to the Seacoast Repertory Theatre ($84 value)
8. Six movie tickets at The Music Hall ($48 value)
9. Isles of Shoals Sightseeing Cruise or Party Ship gift certificate ($25 value)
10. 5 Elements Acupuncture ($200 value)
11. Four Week Group Class at Portsmouth Ballroom Dance Studio
12. Five Classes or Beginner Series at Prasada Yoga Center, North Hampton
13. Paddleboard Lessons for Two at Cinnamon Rainbows Surf Company, Hampton ($70 value)
14. Three half hour private personal training sessions at Fitness Revolution gym, Hampton ($105 value)
15. Adult Bike Helmet ($40 value) and Bike Tune-Up ($75 value) at Papa Wheelies, Portsmouth
16. $25 Gift Card to Philbrick’s Sports, Dover
17. Three Half Hour Private Horseback Riding Lessons at Taylor River Farm, Hampton
18. Restaurant Gift Certificates:
- Olive Garden ($20)
- Applebee’s ($30)
- 99 Restaurant ($25)
- Margaritas (free entrée)
- Newick’s Lobster House, Dover ($25)
- Petey’s Seafood & Bar, Rye ($30)
- Galley Hatch, Hampton ($25)
- Old Salt, Hampton ($25)
- Ron Jillian’s Italian Bar and Grill, Hampton ($10)
- Panera ($25)
- The Green Bean, Exeter ($20)
- IHOP, Newington (complete breakfast, lunch or dinner for two)
- The Butcher Shop and Restaurant, Seabrook ($30)
19. Spectra Spa (massage, manicures, beauty products, etc.), Hampton - $25 Gift Card
20. The Three Sisters Consignment Boutique, Hampton - $25 Gift Card
21. Hair Excitement, North Hampton – various men’s and women’s hair cuts/treatments by the stylists
22. Salon Sara, North Hampton – free haircut (tip included)
23. Monro Muffler/Brake & Service, Hampton – two gift certificates for oil changes and tire rotations
($32.49 each)
24. M The Dog Spa, Hampton - $25 Gift Card
25. Hampton Veterinary Hospital, Hampton – two doggie gift baskets, one for a small dog ($50 value),
and one for a large dog ($75 value)

26. Seacoast Lucky Dog Daycare, Hampton Falls – two free visits ($50 value)

27. Woof Pet Nutrition & Supply, Hampton - $50 Gift Card

28. Treehouse Toys, Portsmouth – Dalmation Marionette Toy

29. Go Games and Toys, Newington – Dog Toy

30. Firefly Pottery, Portsmouth – Dog Related Pottery to Paint at Studio for Free

31. The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire, Dover – admission for 4 people ($36 value)

32. Beach themed Gift Basket from Kelli Barnaby

33. Half a cord of wood from Rick Barnaby at Yankee Hardwoods LLC, Sanford, ME

34. $25 Gift Card to Home Depot

35. $50 Gift Certificate to Victoria Inn Bed & Breakfast and Pavillion, Hampton

36. Two Wine Classes at Dover Wine Company, Dover ($50 value)

37. Drinkwater Flowers, Hampton - $50 floral arrangement available the night of the fundraiser

38. CVS Gift Card for $25

39. Hannaford Gift Card for $50

40. Two Guys Smoke Shop, Seabrook – cigar tasting evening for 1 hour with up to 7 friends ($300 value)

41. Together In His Name Christian Store - $20 Gift Card

42. Two $100 coupons towards Tandem Skydiving at Skydive New England, Lebanon, ME – regularly

$229.90 per jump, now $129.90 per jump (with instructor)