Where you find peace of mind

Feeling Fabulous Friday!

We want to share this story today because it makes us feel fabulous to see Tony and Ruth happy!  They have shared their story with us and we want to pass it on to you. We hope this makes you feel fabulous too.

My name is Ruth and I am 83 years old.  I live with my husband, daughter and grandson.  I am the caregiver for all.  My husband Tony suffers from a variety of health issues, my daughter has diabetes and has had it since birth and my grandson is delayed from a premature birth.  Seems I am the only one that is healthy.  I was afraid to go out shopping or to socialize with friends and family because I didn’t want to leave my husband alone.  I didn’t even think about going out of town because of fear for my daughter.  I needed some help.  I had heard about the personal emergency response service through TV ads, newspaper ads and even in magazines.  It was time.  I called Easter Seals SafetyNet.  It was the best call I had ever made.  Their technician was out to install within one day.  He explained the service and how to use the equipment.  It was so easy and I didn’t feel intimidated to use it.  My husband wears it around his neck and my daughter (who has her own button) wears hers as a bracelet.  I now have the peace of mind in knowing I could leave and either one of them can reach someone at the touch of a button.  We have used this service on many occasions, it was quick and each time the paramedics were at the house within minutes, and I believe saved the lives of my family.  I am so grateful for the services Easter Seals provides and for their wonderful customer service.  We are here because of them.

Visit Easter Seals SafetyNet website or call 407-629-1757 in Central Florida, or toll free at 1-877-347-3257 for if you or someone you know needs this kind of service.

Have a Fabulous Friday everyone!

The extended family at Easter Seals Florida

It’s Feeling Fabulous Friday!

Learning to navigate life when some close to you is diagnosed with a disability is not ever easy. That is why Easter Seals Florida makes it our priority to help anyone in that situation. We are feeling fabulous this Friday morning as our hearts are warmed by a letter from Sablouna. She has written us with such kind words about our staff and program. Thank you so much Sablouna for taking the time to let us know what Easter Seals Florida has done in your life.

Sablouna has given us permission to share her letter below:

Good afternoon,

I wanted to take the time out and write this letter thanking your organization for your support, guidance, follow-up and for the superior level of service I received while utilizing your services. Kalyn my family service coordinator answered all my calls, responded to my emails within 24 hours and believe it or not she was my helping hand when my husband was too busy to help me research autism facts, services and more. At that time, my family members were unaware that my son Devin (pictured to the right) has autism. I was able to keep his diagnosis private because I found an extended family within the Early Steps organization. 

I was unaware of the various services made available by government agencies in the West Palm area until Kalyn and Thea pointed me in the right direction. I received weekly emails, updates, info about support groups. These ladies made my son's autism their problem.  Kalyn would email me with deadline reminders, appointment reminders and even on the morning of a meeting. She would routinely follow-up with me to see how support coach, Dani, was doing with Devin.

Thea, another angel sent from above, not only would send me contact info for parent support groups, she would answer my personal questions pertaining to having a child with a disability. She would send me booklets, websites, pamphlets and would give me pointers on how to manage my son's autism and how to cope with his disability emotionally. Thea not only introduced me to the various school options for children with autism outside of Child Find but she actually accompanied me on a tour at the Palm Beach school of autism. We scheduled the tour, she assisted me with creating a list of questions I'd want to ask and she stayed there on site waiting for me for over 45 minutes because I got lost, Talk about commitment, talk about superior service, talk about two model employees. I thank the Lord every day for sending these two women into mine and Devin's life. I hope they can impact the next family as positively as they have impacted my life.

Both ladies would call to check in on me to see if I had all of the requested documents. They are truly an asset to the organization. if the organizations reputation depended solely on a few individuals, I would name Kalyn and Thea as stellar employees and warm loving people who go above and beyond their job duties to make sure the children of child find can successfully complete the program, get the treatment they need and transition. I'm indebted, thank you for sharing all of your knowledge, your time, for coordinating the child find meetings, for assigning Dani to my son and for being there to answer my questions, for going on the school tour with me when my husband could not.

Sincerely,
Sablouna

For more information about the Treasure Coast Early Steps program, visit www.fl.easterseals.com/TreasureCoastEarlyStepsProgram or contact us.

Sablouna has made our day and we hope yours as well. Thank you so much for visiting us this Friday.

A story of inspiration

Feeling Fabulous Friday!

Sometimes stories can truly inspire our hearts and minds. The inspiring words of others can remind us what life is all about. Today, we want to share Jamie Watson's story with you. Jamie is an Orlando City Lion soccer player who believes in helping others. That’s why he and Orlando City Soccer have committed to raise five thousand dollars for Easter Seals Florida, and we couldn't be more grateful. 

Jamie Watson

You know that feeling when you feel so connected to something from the moment you’re first introduced to it? That's the feeling I had when I first learned what Easter Seals was all about. Growing up the youngest of 3 boys, I didn't have a 'normal' childhood like most. My 'normal' was helping my mom Janet, my dad West, and my brother Kevin take care of my oldest brother Brett. Brett was born with cerebral palsy and is mentally and physically handicapped. Always has been, always will be. As Brett has grown up through life and throughout school in particular, I have met hundreds of amazing children like my brother. Being involved in the lives of such amazing young boys and girls just like my brother has had the biggest impact in my life. The pure happiness and genuine love from a special needs child is the realist emotion in this world in my eyes. These kids are truly a gift to this world and, to me, there is no greater feeling than helping put a smile on one of God's beautiful children!

So when I first learned that I could possibly become involved with Easter Seals of Florida, I jumped at the chance. Being a professional soccer player for Orlando City Soccer Club, I know my life has been extremely blessed. I'm so lucky to play the game that I love. With every blessing placed in your life, I feel a strong need to 'pay my blessing forward.' My 'paying it forward' moment is now. By becoming a spokesperson for Easter Seals, I am dedicating myself to spend time with these amazing children, and to help however I can. I ask each one of you reading this now to take a moment and look at the many blessings in your lives. Then take a second to imagine a world where you're not as fortunate, or sometimes, physically or mentally able to enjoy those blessings. There are a lot of children right here in your hometown that would love to have your help-emotionally, time wise, donation wise, anything you can think of that might bring a bit of joy to them! I challenge you to ask yourself, 'how can I help?' I promise to do the same and do everything I can to help as many special needs children in whatever way possible. Together, we can improve the lives of so many young men and women, and make this world a better place. Thank you for joining me on this journey with Easter Seals!

Jamie

Thank you Jamie and Orlando City Soccer for all you do. Go out and support them at their first game on March 9^th! Order tickets today and have a fabulous Friday!!!

Josué's Miracle Story

Miracle Monday

Miracle Monday… because who doesn't love miracles?

Today we want to share this heart-warming letter from Mary Ann, the mother of one of Easter Seals Treasure Coast Early Steps’ clients.

               

Josué was initially evaluated by Treasure Coast Early Steps at 2 months of age and was found to have low muscle tone, stiffness in his legs and occasional tremoring/clonus and compensatory posturing and transitions due to this. He began working with the physical therapist from the Primary Service Provider Team. She demonstrated the exercises we were to focus on throughout each week and how to add them to the little things we do as a family each day. Our PT Primary Provider was fun and provided our family with information and weekly progress sheets. At the age of 14 months, Josué began to walk during one of his therapy sessions and we were able to catch it on video! It was a wonderful moment to share as a team!

At 15 months we noticed that he stopped using the few words he had, so we added a speech therapist to our regular visits.. At 20 months Josué began speech therapy with a combination of sign language and play therapy. His wonderful speech therapist, has worked with our family in our native language, which is Spanish. She is a conscientious, soft-spoken, fun-loving young lady who is totally committed to helping us enable Josué to communicate. He learned many signs in a short period of time and used them to make meaningful, creative, and specific communication. As his oral language skills have progressed, he has slowly stopped using sign language, but he feels comfortable using sign language as a means of communication in unfamiliar situations. 

As we come closer to his third birthday, I am proud of his accomplishments and extremely grateful to The Lord for the marvelous, caring people who have come into our lives in the form of Early Steps therapists and family service coordinators who are only a phone call away and who have become part of our extended family.

Respectfully yours,

Mary Ann

We hope this launches a great week for you. Please share your inspirational stories with us. Don’t forget to submit any questions you may have in the question box in the right panel.

65th year and going strong

It’s Feeling Fabulous Friday!

In today’s data-driven world we can analyze, measure and count the number of people we serve and the impacts we have on their lives.  Sixty-five years ago, in 1948 when Easter Seals Florida was first formed, there were no computers, no fancy data systems and it wasn't a priority to keep track.  But imagine if we did have data going back that far! Hundreds of thousands of people have been served or supported by Easter Seals Florida.  If you consider the advocacy nationwide, Easter Seals has impacted millions of people with disabilities with our instrumental work on the Americans with Disabilities Act, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Affordability Health Care Act.

Closer to home, today children like Leonardo, Taliyah and Jacob are learning to walk, talk and read in our child development, Early Intervention and therapy programs.  Adults like Joseph, Andrea and Jermane are employed, gaining independence in their life skills, in our employment programs, and seniors and veterans like Frank, Millie and Hattie are staying alert, engaged and safe in our adult day health care programs. 

A major accomplishment this year was raising the money to replace our pool at Camp Challenge.  Swimming is a central component of summer time and camp!  Our original pool built was built in 1960 and has been continually upgraded to maintain all health and safety standards.  The newest of safety standards for 2013 made it essential to modernize and start fresh with a whole new pool. In the spring of 2013 we will host our grand opening of our pool and celebrate the many donors and volunteers who helped us make this happen. We look forward to an extraordinary summer with record numbers of swimmers and campers!

In our 65^th year of service, we are grateful for your support of our mission and the work we do each and every day!

A heartwarming letter from Rina's family

Welcome to our kick off of Memories Monday!

It is important to reflect. Memory Mondays give us an opportunity to thank others and refresh ourselves on how we became what we are today. Who can think of a more encouraging way to start the week?

Today we want to thank Maria Arce and Elizabeth Arce-Ocampa. These two lovely ladies took the time to write us a very heart warming thank you note, so we want to thank them in return! They have said it is okay to share their note, so feel free to read it below.

Our mother, Rina, has been going to Easter Seals Day Break for three years and it has been a blessing. She has Alzheimer’s and needs a place that can meet her specific needs. My sister and I are so happy to have found this wonderful place for our mother. When we are at work, our minds are at peace because she is well cared for and safe. We know she loves it there.

The director, Jody Hampton and her staff are amazing. Jody is extremely knowledgeable in the field of care giving. She's comforting, energetic, focused, and efficient. She listens and works with the caregivers, which is very important. She always has time to update us. In addition, the staff members are attentive and dedicated.  

We feel the activities at Easter Seals Day Break have helped to slow down the Alzheimer’s. The staff helps our mother during lunch to make sure she has eaten and helps her with her personal needs. She has the opportunity to exercise, with supervision, on a Geri Walker, which is great for her arthritis. We are always told how she enjoys the quest speakers and how she can participate on her level or just observe. The interaction with others, plus the sights and sounds, keep her mind stimulated. The nurse is another benefit of Easter Seals, she helps with medications so there is less for us to do at home.

Finally, my sister and I are fortunate to have found Easter Seals Day Break. We are still able to keep our mother with us and she continues to enjoy life at her pace and own level.

Thank you,

Maria Arce & Elizabeth Arce-Ocampo

We are so pleased to have made a difference in these lives. They brighten our days too. Thank you for joining us on Memories Monday. Have a lovely week! 

Don’t forget to submit questions in the box to the right… we will post answers to the blog J