runs4fun
12-03-2004, 07:21 AM
This is not your typical trip report...
From November 15-22, Occupational Therapist Maital Levy and I spent a week with Lyn Major at the ECC school. This was our second "annual" trip to work with the special needs children at the school and it was a totally incredible week. I'll try to keep this short - but if you want more details, send me an e-mail! I've tried to paste a couple of photos below -- hope it works!
The trip was truly a miracle from start to finish. First off, this board played a huge role. Some mysterious angel that visits this board forwarded to her neice (?) who is an occupational therapist in Pennsylvania a photo I posted of a young man that we fitted with a walker last year. I still don't know who this board member was... but she started the chain of miracles. This occupational therapist in Pennsylvania donated a huge amount of rehabilitation equipment that was being "mothballed" at her facility. This included pediatric walkers, wheelchairs, special desks and classroom chairs for children with physical disabilities, feeding aids, braces, positioning aids, etc. She sent me an e-mail offering this equipment free for the taking and Lyn Major and I decided we couldn't turn it down... though we had no clue how we were going to get it from Pennsylvania to Abaco.
The board to the rescue again... I posted a plea for help and within hours, board member Roger Brock sent me an e-mail offering to pick up and store the mountain of equipment until we could get it shipped. OK... we're off to a great start! Roger linked up with Mindy (the OT in Pennsylvania) and retrieved the equipment and stored it in a friend's warehouse.
Next chore: pack it and ship it. I contacted some of my husband's colleagues and they contacted friends in the shipping business and before we knew it we were good to go! Engine crates were shipped up to Pennsylvania so we could pack the equipment. I flew up to Philly and was met by one of my husband's colleagues at the airport, and taken to the warehouse where Roger and Mindy and Mindy's husband had already loaded the equipment from the warehouse into a truck for transportation to a nearby Porsche dealership where we would pack it and have it waiting for the trucking company to pick up. Mindy had recruited Marcie (a PT that works with her) to help disassemble and pack the equipment and within about 3 hours we had all the equipment stuffed into three large engine crates and the leftovers were shrink wrapped onto a pallet.
A few days later, Intercity Lines picked up the equipment at the dealership and had it down to Florida to the next set of angels for the next leg of the journey.
Private pilots Fletcher and Pedro (long time supporters of ECC) had agreed to fly the equipment over to Abaco, and had even said they'd do everything they could to get it there before my November 15th arrival. Somehow they managed to cram ALL the equipment into their two small planes and it ALL arrived in advance of our November 15th trip.
Lyn (chief angel of the school) had managed to work her miracle with customs and got all the equipment cleared, transported to the school and stuffed into a storage area in the new classroom.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I had been busy sending out information newsletters about the school and the upcoming rehabilitation relief trip to all my friends and family. In short I was begging for funds so that we could pay airfare, and cover all the various expenses associated with the trip. Donations from many of these "angels" came rolling in, and we had just enough to cover the expenses of the week, including airfare for both Maital (the OT) and myself. Housing for the week was donated by angels Dave, Phoebe, Jeff and Jenny Gale of Island Marine. They've been staunch supporters of this rehab relief effort both years and I am endlessly grateful for their generosity.
November 15th arrived and I landed around 11:15 am and was met with a hug from Lyn. We headed straight to the school and I spent the remainder of the day observing in the classes to see who needed help, and mentally figure out how best to spend the short time I was going to be there.
Tuesday was spent pulling the equipment out of the storage area and into the yard between the buildings. I spent the entire day cleaning and reassembling things. It was a bit of a treasure hunt at times... "where is that widget that goes with this walker?" "how do those brakes attach to that wheelchair?" "what does this part go with?". At class breaks I was literally overwhelmed with children asking an endless stream of questions like "what is this chair for?", "did you bring this walker for me?", "can we give this desk to Trenneil?" The kids were not only crawling on the equipment scattered in their playground... they were offering to help scrub it and "organize" it with me! By the end of the day, I had finally gotten things assembled and in some sort of order and just in the nick of time since Maital's flight arrived that afternoon. She took a quick inventory of what we had and we headed to Parrot Cay that evening to "plot & plan" the remainder of week.
Wednesday was spent with Maital working with individual teachers and students on writing and motor-skills. Meanwhile, Lyn ferried me around Marsh Harbour so I could check in on some members of the community. We visited a woman who had just come home from the hospital having had her 3rd stroke. We taught her some exercises and made suggestions for adaptations of her home. We then visited another young woman who was born with Spina Bifida which left her legs paralyzed. Despite her paralyzed legs, she had good use of her hands and a good sense of humor. After teaching some exercises, we found that she was in need of a new wheelchair and realized that one of the pediatric chairs donated by the facility in Pennsylvania and shipped over a couple of weeks ago would fit her fine. Arrangements were made for her to “try it on” at the school on Friday.
Thursday Lyn drove Maital and me to Cooperstown to visit with a 15 year old girl severely disabled with Spina Bifida. Her mother greeted us at the door and though we had packed the car full of supplies and equipment we thought we might need, the only item we could use was one of the positioning devices. We taught the mother how to move her daughter into the formed “bucket seat” foam positioning device and within a few short minutes of being propped up in the more supported position, the child’s breathing improved. We taught some exercises and then headed back for the long journey to Marsh Harbour.
Friday both Maital and I focused entirely on the kids and teachers at the school. Savieon, whose photo some of you may recall as the “face of freedom” I posted last year, had outgrown that walker we sent down last year and was ready for the next size. Lucky enough… there was just the right size in the shipment that was sent over. We adjusted the new walker to fit him and he straightened up beautifully. This walker will be like a race car for him; the old one had two wheels and two rubber stoppers… this new one has 4 wheels and he can fly! Next we fitted some of the special angle-adjustable desks that were shipped over, and we adjusted and adapted one of the larger walkers for Brent to take home so he could practice walking there as well as at school. Maital worked with Brent’s teacher Melanie to show her how to utilize some of the special spoons and plates that were sent over. The day flew by. It was nearly 5 when I realized that the young woman I’d seen earlier in the week hadn’t been by to try her chair out. No sooner had the thought crossed my mind, and I looked out and saw her being rolled up the driveway by her sister. We pulled one of the wheelchairs out and placed her in it and her face lit up with a big smile as she said “this one is much more comfortable!” I told her “it’s yours, the only catch is that you have to trade in your old one so we can give it to someone who doesn’t have one.” She was delighted. Who knows, with a wheelchair that’s more comfortable she may be able to stay out of bed more, get stronger and one day maybe even work at the school helping to answer phones, grade papers, etc.! That would be a dream come true for her – and it would mean that ECC’s mission had come full circle, not only teaching academic, vocational and life skills to those with special needs, but also providing meaningful employment to one with special needs. This miracle will need support as Lyn’s budget doesn’t have a spare dime in it to employ anyone else. I’m hopeful things will work out.
Maital headed back to Connecticut on Sunday, and I packed to fly out on Monday. My flight didn’t leave until nearly noon though, so I spent the morning at ECC and was delighted that Treneil was back from his medical visit in Florida. His teacher, Ellen had spied a positioning chair and adjustable desk that she thought would really help him and we set about the task of adjusting the chair to fit his body and offer just the right amount of support when he started to “sag” with fatigue. He climbed up into it with a little help from Ellen and declared “I feel like a king!” His new chair sits a bit higher than the others in the class, and with the desk adjusted to the right angle Ellen noted his handwriting improved immediately. Now that’s instant gratification for you!
As I sat waiting for the plane, my mind whirled with all that we had accomplished during the week. Maybe in 2005 we can raise enough funds to make two trips – one in the spring and one in the fall. I am truly humbled as I realize how many angles contributed to this successful week. It was truly on the wings of these angels that we were able to do what we did.
A major thank you goes to this board for helping start the chain of events. To those of you who’ve taken the time to read this long post – thanks… and if you’re interested in being one of those who helps make the journey possible next year, please e-mail me for more information.
Have a great holiday season everyone and give thanks every day for the blessings of health!
From November 15-22, Occupational Therapist Maital Levy and I spent a week with Lyn Major at the ECC school. This was our second "annual" trip to work with the special needs children at the school and it was a totally incredible week. I'll try to keep this short - but if you want more details, send me an e-mail! I've tried to paste a couple of photos below -- hope it works!
The trip was truly a miracle from start to finish. First off, this board played a huge role. Some mysterious angel that visits this board forwarded to her neice (?) who is an occupational therapist in Pennsylvania a photo I posted of a young man that we fitted with a walker last year. I still don't know who this board member was... but she started the chain of miracles. This occupational therapist in Pennsylvania donated a huge amount of rehabilitation equipment that was being "mothballed" at her facility. This included pediatric walkers, wheelchairs, special desks and classroom chairs for children with physical disabilities, feeding aids, braces, positioning aids, etc. She sent me an e-mail offering this equipment free for the taking and Lyn Major and I decided we couldn't turn it down... though we had no clue how we were going to get it from Pennsylvania to Abaco.
The board to the rescue again... I posted a plea for help and within hours, board member Roger Brock sent me an e-mail offering to pick up and store the mountain of equipment until we could get it shipped. OK... we're off to a great start! Roger linked up with Mindy (the OT in Pennsylvania) and retrieved the equipment and stored it in a friend's warehouse.
Next chore: pack it and ship it. I contacted some of my husband's colleagues and they contacted friends in the shipping business and before we knew it we were good to go! Engine crates were shipped up to Pennsylvania so we could pack the equipment. I flew up to Philly and was met by one of my husband's colleagues at the airport, and taken to the warehouse where Roger and Mindy and Mindy's husband had already loaded the equipment from the warehouse into a truck for transportation to a nearby Porsche dealership where we would pack it and have it waiting for the trucking company to pick up. Mindy had recruited Marcie (a PT that works with her) to help disassemble and pack the equipment and within about 3 hours we had all the equipment stuffed into three large engine crates and the leftovers were shrink wrapped onto a pallet.
A few days later, Intercity Lines picked up the equipment at the dealership and had it down to Florida to the next set of angels for the next leg of the journey.
Private pilots Fletcher and Pedro (long time supporters of ECC) had agreed to fly the equipment over to Abaco, and had even said they'd do everything they could to get it there before my November 15th arrival. Somehow they managed to cram ALL the equipment into their two small planes and it ALL arrived in advance of our November 15th trip.
Lyn (chief angel of the school) had managed to work her miracle with customs and got all the equipment cleared, transported to the school and stuffed into a storage area in the new classroom.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I had been busy sending out information newsletters about the school and the upcoming rehabilitation relief trip to all my friends and family. In short I was begging for funds so that we could pay airfare, and cover all the various expenses associated with the trip. Donations from many of these "angels" came rolling in, and we had just enough to cover the expenses of the week, including airfare for both Maital (the OT) and myself. Housing for the week was donated by angels Dave, Phoebe, Jeff and Jenny Gale of Island Marine. They've been staunch supporters of this rehab relief effort both years and I am endlessly grateful for their generosity.
November 15th arrived and I landed around 11:15 am and was met with a hug from Lyn. We headed straight to the school and I spent the remainder of the day observing in the classes to see who needed help, and mentally figure out how best to spend the short time I was going to be there.
Tuesday was spent pulling the equipment out of the storage area and into the yard between the buildings. I spent the entire day cleaning and reassembling things. It was a bit of a treasure hunt at times... "where is that widget that goes with this walker?" "how do those brakes attach to that wheelchair?" "what does this part go with?". At class breaks I was literally overwhelmed with children asking an endless stream of questions like "what is this chair for?", "did you bring this walker for me?", "can we give this desk to Trenneil?" The kids were not only crawling on the equipment scattered in their playground... they were offering to help scrub it and "organize" it with me! By the end of the day, I had finally gotten things assembled and in some sort of order and just in the nick of time since Maital's flight arrived that afternoon. She took a quick inventory of what we had and we headed to Parrot Cay that evening to "plot & plan" the remainder of week.
Wednesday was spent with Maital working with individual teachers and students on writing and motor-skills. Meanwhile, Lyn ferried me around Marsh Harbour so I could check in on some members of the community. We visited a woman who had just come home from the hospital having had her 3rd stroke. We taught her some exercises and made suggestions for adaptations of her home. We then visited another young woman who was born with Spina Bifida which left her legs paralyzed. Despite her paralyzed legs, she had good use of her hands and a good sense of humor. After teaching some exercises, we found that she was in need of a new wheelchair and realized that one of the pediatric chairs donated by the facility in Pennsylvania and shipped over a couple of weeks ago would fit her fine. Arrangements were made for her to “try it on” at the school on Friday.
Thursday Lyn drove Maital and me to Cooperstown to visit with a 15 year old girl severely disabled with Spina Bifida. Her mother greeted us at the door and though we had packed the car full of supplies and equipment we thought we might need, the only item we could use was one of the positioning devices. We taught the mother how to move her daughter into the formed “bucket seat” foam positioning device and within a few short minutes of being propped up in the more supported position, the child’s breathing improved. We taught some exercises and then headed back for the long journey to Marsh Harbour.
Friday both Maital and I focused entirely on the kids and teachers at the school. Savieon, whose photo some of you may recall as the “face of freedom” I posted last year, had outgrown that walker we sent down last year and was ready for the next size. Lucky enough… there was just the right size in the shipment that was sent over. We adjusted the new walker to fit him and he straightened up beautifully. This walker will be like a race car for him; the old one had two wheels and two rubber stoppers… this new one has 4 wheels and he can fly! Next we fitted some of the special angle-adjustable desks that were shipped over, and we adjusted and adapted one of the larger walkers for Brent to take home so he could practice walking there as well as at school. Maital worked with Brent’s teacher Melanie to show her how to utilize some of the special spoons and plates that were sent over. The day flew by. It was nearly 5 when I realized that the young woman I’d seen earlier in the week hadn’t been by to try her chair out. No sooner had the thought crossed my mind, and I looked out and saw her being rolled up the driveway by her sister. We pulled one of the wheelchairs out and placed her in it and her face lit up with a big smile as she said “this one is much more comfortable!” I told her “it’s yours, the only catch is that you have to trade in your old one so we can give it to someone who doesn’t have one.” She was delighted. Who knows, with a wheelchair that’s more comfortable she may be able to stay out of bed more, get stronger and one day maybe even work at the school helping to answer phones, grade papers, etc.! That would be a dream come true for her – and it would mean that ECC’s mission had come full circle, not only teaching academic, vocational and life skills to those with special needs, but also providing meaningful employment to one with special needs. This miracle will need support as Lyn’s budget doesn’t have a spare dime in it to employ anyone else. I’m hopeful things will work out.
Maital headed back to Connecticut on Sunday, and I packed to fly out on Monday. My flight didn’t leave until nearly noon though, so I spent the morning at ECC and was delighted that Treneil was back from his medical visit in Florida. His teacher, Ellen had spied a positioning chair and adjustable desk that she thought would really help him and we set about the task of adjusting the chair to fit his body and offer just the right amount of support when he started to “sag” with fatigue. He climbed up into it with a little help from Ellen and declared “I feel like a king!” His new chair sits a bit higher than the others in the class, and with the desk adjusted to the right angle Ellen noted his handwriting improved immediately. Now that’s instant gratification for you!
As I sat waiting for the plane, my mind whirled with all that we had accomplished during the week. Maybe in 2005 we can raise enough funds to make two trips – one in the spring and one in the fall. I am truly humbled as I realize how many angles contributed to this successful week. It was truly on the wings of these angels that we were able to do what we did.
A major thank you goes to this board for helping start the chain of events. To those of you who’ve taken the time to read this long post – thanks… and if you’re interested in being one of those who helps make the journey possible next year, please e-mail me for more information.
Have a great holiday season everyone and give thanks every day for the blessings of health!