Last week was a sad week for us, a sad but triumphant week.
We had to say goodbye to old friends, friends that had helped us through hard times, friends we trusted, friends we could always count on to provide answers to our questions. We were saying goodbye to Easter Seals. Our eligibility with Easter Seals would expire the moment Lincoln turned three years old on Friday, so we were no longer going to see the many therapists and one loyal case worker who had been our weekly visitors for nearly three years.
Lincoln has had a speech therapist from the moment he was born. We met his first one in the NICU. Most people don’t understand that, (a Speech therapist an hour after you're born?) but SLP’s (that’s what they call themselves; it stands for Speech Language Pathologists) don’t just help out with speech. They specialize in all things having to do with the mouth, tongue, and lips. Things like nursing, eating with utensils, and communicating through sign language.
Linc got his first Occupational therapist soon after joining Easter Seals. OT’s help out with fine motor skills and equilibrium; things like gripping a spoon, acclimating the child to new textures, and integrating all the different systems of the body.
His first Physical therapist came only when he started crawling. PT’s deal with gross motor skills and muscle strengthening. They focus on walking, crawling, or navigating an obstacle course.
His case worker, Nicole, contacted us when Lincoln was still in the NICU. We met her for the first time when he was only a few weeks old. She kept all of his paper work current and she tried to keep us updated on playgroups and support groups that helped ease us into this Special Needs Kids’ world. She acted as an information hub. All of Linc’s many medical records went through her.
These peopl had always been here, but suddenly we had to say goodbye. It was incredibly sad, but it was a triumph too. Because Lincoln was graduating into a new school, and that was what all this therapy had been leading up to. We had all been working towards the day that he would be ready when we handed him off to a more structured and intense world of learning and therapy. And that day had arrived.
Just after lunch last Thursday all of our old friends were scheduled to descend on us one last wonderful time. We were going to set long term goals for Lincoln, to help guide and inform his new school therapists. Just before the boys and I started to eat lunch, Nico asked if we could pray. “Sure buddy,” I said. So Nico took the reigns and gave a nice long prayer of thanks. He included typical three year old things like, his parents, bother, toys, dog, and lightsabers. Just before he said ‘Amen’ though, I asked if I could squeeze in a little addition. “Sure Dad,” he allowed. Now, I am not one to pray out loud. I find it disconcerting, contrived, and awkward. But, in that moment, I was filled with gratitude. Gratitude I wanted to share with my boys. Gratitude I wanted to share with God.
“Oh God,” I whispered quietly. “What?” said Nico, as we all three held hands. I looked at Lincoln and continued, without whispering this time. “Dear Lord, thank you. Thank you for these amazing people who have been in our lives since Linc was born. Thank you for having them here to challenge us. Thank you for giving us people who love Lincoln as much as we do. They helped us so much. Thank you for giving us people who helped teach Linc how to interact with our world. We will miss them, but thank you for giving them to us for a little while”.
“Dude!” said Nicholas. “That was a really good little addition!”
“You know why?” I asked. He shook his head. “Because I really meant it,” I said.
The wonderful women from Easter Seals saved us. For some reason, they were all women. For some reason, they were all wonderful. They came to our house two to four times a week for three years. We loved to have them. The boys waited at the door for their friends to bring them something new or challenging. Even our dog whined in anticipation of their arrival. We shared stories about our lives. They taught Liz and me how to help Lincoln become the amazing little ball of energy he is today.
Keri-Occupational
Emily-Physical
Kim-Speech
Nicole-Case Worker
They took what was a terrifying and lonely experience and brought a level of friendship, professional expertise, and camaraderie that we desperately needed in the beginning and that we came to rely on in the years to come.
And they are all gone now…
My house feels emptier knowing that these women will never be here again.
But I know they did their jobs well. After Linc's first day of school, his teacher sent us an email saying that his was the smoothest transition into classroom life that she had seen in her 12 years of teaching.
Thank you Easter Seals.
-Sam
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