Blog

Dear friends,  I’ll always remember, as a Make-A-Wish volunteer, meeting Wish kids for the first time and learning more about their hopes and dreams and wishes. I’ll always remember, as a Make-A-Wish employee, collaborating with a team to make sure those wishes became a reality.  I’ll always remember, as a teacher, working with Darryl and […]

A diagnosis of severe hydrocephalus at 20 weeks gestation meant Jackson’s parents faced many unknowns before he was born. Hydrocephalus is a condition where there is an excessive buildup of fluid inside the brain. Critical medical decisions would be necessary immediately after his birth. Jackson made his entrance into the world in December of 2021. […]

You may have heard John Burroughs’s phrase, “Leap, and the net will appear.”  Well, on February 29, 2020, Leo quite literally made his “leap” into the world—a leap year baby. And it wasn’t long before the “net” became important to Leo and his parents. Despite a perfect full-term pregnancy, Leo’s parents and medical staff immediately […]

Felicity throws on her backpack and confidently heads out the door for school, wearing a smile. But this wasn’t always the case—far from it. From a young age, Felicity was very hesitant around people she wasn’t familiar with. In grade school, she lived in intense fear, anxiety, and worry. She developed sensory fears, got picked on […]

Growing up, I always knew I wanted a job with a purpose. What I didn’t expect was for my cup to overflow. It took 26 years to get there, but it was worth the wait. The seed was planted in my youth—watching my mom and dad with careers that made them excited. They loved what they did […]

There was a time when I thought silence was bliss. But then my son stopped talking. It wasn’t sudden—a slow progression over the last year. Now, the silence in my house is deafening, and it doesn’t feel good—to say it’s unsettling is mild. We have a new diagnoses to digest and manage—selective mutism—often brought on […]

As December winds down, I like to take time to reflect on the past year. So much has happened, and so much has changed.  Change can be something you never knew you needed. It can be something that brings joy or improvement—a gift.  When I moved to Michigan, it was a drastic change. Everything was […]

Difficulty with transitions, needing extra time on activities, having problems with writing and communicating, and learning appropriate interactions with peers— these are just a few of the struggles we started noticing in our son, Phillip when he was young.  At age three, Phillip couldn’t verbalize more than one or two-word sentences. When your child can’t […]