Doctors wanted to put the Wethersfield resident in a nursing home, but her husband insisted she come home. There she recovered, chasing after her 2-year-old daughter with, and then without, crutches.

"I wanted to die," said Harwe, whose stroke came after a chiropractic adjustment crushed an artery. "It was a struggle, (but) this way I was involved in their lives."

On Wednesday, Harwe, now 40, came to the Courtyard by Marriott to tell her story of home recovery - and to help others bring their loved ones home.

She came to support Joe Stango, who kicked off a grassroots letter writing campaign on 1320-AM WATR for federal "Money Follows the Person" funding. Stango hopes to collect 10,000 signed letters of support for Connecticut's grant application to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by Oct. 15.

On Wednesday, he collected about 450 letters, and is expecting at least 250 more. He hopes his effort will allow people like his mother, Dora, to receive long-term care at home instead of in a nursing home.

He was joined by Waterbury Mayor Michael J. Jarjura, state Sens. Louis C. DeLuca, R-Woodbury, and Edith Gelt Prague, D-Columbia, who with other politicians, health care workers and radio personalities advocated for the cause live from 9 a.m. and noon.

"We are here in Waterbury. We want people to come down," Stango said on the radio just after 9 a.m. "Bottom line is, this grant, this program, will allow people to come home from nursing homes... It simply provides choice."

Stango cared for his mother at his home in Southbury until it got too expensive, and he had to move her to nursing home.

He has already convinced lawmakers to apply for some of the $1.75 billion available for the "Money Follows the Person" funding. He didn't realize until recently that the money was not assured.

He knows he has aimed high, but is confident he can collect 10,000 letters.

"The reality is that I took my mother to the top of the mountain; we expected to see the promised land. Instead all we saw was a bigger mountain," he said. "I said, 'OK, it's a bigger mountain. That means I need a bigger number."

In a letter-writing campaign last spring, he collected 700 signatures over three days.

Like Harwe, many who came to sign brought their own stories. Susan Goodman of Waterbury, whose father suffers from Alzheimer's disease, said the money could help her family.

She brought a letter from her mother, who takes care of her father at home, and signed her own.

Susan Bria of Southbury struggled to keep her mother at home in Waterbury, until her death eight years ago at 98. She went from needing help part-time to needing help full time for the most basic things. Bria worked full time as a high school teacher, but said taking care of her mother was like a second job.

"I know what it means to bring someone home," said Bria, who now volunteers for Stango's effort. "I know what it meant to her. Not everyone is so fortunate. I want to see others get their wish, too."