Help a CE Veteran Combat Wife’s Disability

One cool thing about the CE industry is that it’s close-knit. People tend to stay within the industry, moving from company to company, keeping in touch with old colleagues.

That network can come in handy if you ever need a little help, and such is the case for Chris Bauer, former Tweeter trainer and spokesman and current director of marketing for ZeeVee.

Chris’ wife Angela was diagnosed with bone cancer three and a half years ago, and has since had a leg and part of her hip amputated. To give her a safe and accessible place to live, they’re selling their existing house and building a handicap-accessible home near Angela’s sister’s family, who’ll provide support for Angela, Chris and the two of their six kids still living at home.

Here’s where the network comes into play: Chris and Angela’s friends have launched a Web site designed to help defray some of the substantial expense of building this special home. Those who’d like to learn more, or who want to donate, can do so at www.Team-Angela.org.

Directly from Chris …

After just 22 years at the company I became the spokesman for Tweeter Home Entertainment; not quite an overnight success, but exciting nonetheless.

That same month my wife Angela, mother of our six kids, was diagnosed with bone cancer. Much more exciting.

I remember seeing her come into the house after what I thought was a routine visit to the orthopedist to check on a sore right leg. She was on crutches, and as she came through the door she said, “They say I have a tumor in my thigh. It could be benign, or it could be cancer.”

If you’ve never had that experience, it’s impossible to imagine how it hollows you out, right on the spot.

That was three and a half years ago and I’m still in the CE business, though I left Tweeter long before its terrible ending.

My wife has had surgery to remove a tumor in her thighbone, another in her lung, and just this past June she had her right leg and part of her hip amputated.

That last procedure and the recovery are the stuff of nightmares. It’s been a long three and a half years.

Throughout, Angela’s focus has remained on our kids, especially our three youngest, as she’s worked relentlessly to help them become more responsible, stronger and more independent. She’s like an injured lioness carrying her cubs to safety one by one before tending to her own terrible wounds. It’s simply astonishing.

Our friends in the CE biz have provided amazing support during this brutal run. Recently a couple of them, plus some more of our old friends, began raising funds to help us with the next big adventure in our lives: building a safe and accessible house to accommodate my wife’s new physical challenge.

You can learn about it at www.Team-Angela.org.

Angela and I want to thank them, and the editors of CE Pro, for their incredible generosity toward us. Though business is tough in the CE industry right now, Angela and I are deeply grateful to still be a part of this community.

Chris Bauer

Many, many CE folks know Chris. As a trainer at Tweeter he educated (and entertained) thousands of employees — many of whom still work in the industry. He eventually became the voice and face of Tweeter, appearing in radio and TV ads. Even if you don’t know him, you’ve likely heard or seen him.

At ZeeVee, he continues to reach out to the industry building brand awareness for the company.

I met Chris while working in Tweeter’s marketing department about 10 years ago.

How do you know Chris? Let us know in the comments section below.

Forward this to people who know Chris. And please donate what you can at www.Team-Angela.org.