News: Spring 2009 News Magazine
(print version)
Contents:
- Rylie Defies the Odds
- Joanna Pomeroy is Named Employee of the Month
- Penny Baker Receives Award for Outstanding Service
- Louise Weech Receives Senior Hero Award in Jefferson County
- Supported Living Services Waiver Changes
- Staff Honored for Their Many Years of Service
- DDRC Memorial Garden Dedicated this Spring
- Charity Golf Tournament
Rylie Defies the Odds
By Jade, Rylie's mother At fourteen months old, Rylie was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called MPS1-Hurler. MPS is a genetic lysosomal storage disorder caused by the body's inability to produce certain enzymes. We were told that if left untreated Rylie’s body would continue to degenerate, and she would not make it to her tenth birthday. In order for Rylie to produce the missing enzyme, she would have to go through a bone marrow transplant.
On May 7, 2008, Rylie received hope in the form of donated cord blood. The cord blood was infused into her body after 12 days of chemotherapy that completely wiped out her immune system. The chemotherapy treatments zapped Rylie's strength. During Rylie's extended hospital stay, she stopped walking and spent many days barely wanting to move. Needless to say, it Rylie Defies the Odds was not the best environment for a child who was already delayed in several developmental categories. In addition, she had stopped eating and drinking, a common side effect of the chemotherapy regimen, and was fed nutrition through a tube.
Once she was back home, Rylie started to receive services through DDRC. Ania and Marlo started working with Rylie. They encouraged her to experiment with different textures, stretch to improve mobility, and make new verbal sounds. They also worked on her eating and drinking issues. Their personalized treatment was exactly what Rylie needed. They encouraged her and gave us ideas during each session to try to get Rylie out of her comfort zone by moving more and talking more. Right away Rylie loved working with her therapists, and she really responded to their games and exercises. With their help, Rylie has made huge gains in mobility and language skills. She now walks, climbs, and says over 50 words. All of Rylie’s doctors can’t say enough about how much she had grown in physical activity and speech development. With the wonderful help of DDRC, Rylie is doing better than we could have ever hoped for just one year ago.
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Joanna Pomeroy is Named Employee of the Month
Joanna Pomeroy was named employee of the month by
the United Artists Theater at the Mills Shopping Center.
Joanna has worked at the Theater as an usher for over
two years and says that she really enjoys interacting with
the customers and her fellow employees. At the theater
she reports to several managers and they too are very nice.
Occasionally she has to deal with an angry customer who
wants to take in food or beverages that are against theatre
policy, but she says it's just part of the job. The nice people
she deals with outnumber the few grumpy ones. Joanna
says she really likes her job.
Besides working at the theater she takes computer
classes at the DDRC Discovery Computer Lab.
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Penny Baker Receives Award for Outstanding Service
Penny Baker, an employee at the King Soopers
in Golden, received recognition for her 17 years of
dedicated employment.
Penny is a great example of a good employment
match. It is quite obvious that she loves her job and
the store management loves her as a part of their work
force. The customers appreciate her help, friendly smile
and pleasant greeting. Penny is a full-time employee
and has a variety of jobs including bagging groceries
for her customers.
Thank you, King Soopers, for hiring people with
developmental disabilities! Penny helps make the
shopping experience an enjoyable one.
Penny also enjoys her computer classes at the
DDRC Discovery Computer Lab run by Erlen Marsh.
17 years of dedicated
employment ...
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Louise Weech Receives Senior Hero Award in Jefferson County
Presented by the Jefferson County Council on Aging The Senior Hero Award is given to an individual who has shown a real commitment to improving the lives of others. Louise has been a model Jefferson County citizen since the early 1960's and has made a real difference in her community and in the lives of all who work with her. She has had many challenges over her lifetime starting with being born with cerebral palsy. In addition, her eyes could not focus so she went to live at a school for the blind, even though surgery gave her limited sight. She insisted on finishing high school well before the 1974 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act gave children with disabilities the right to attend school. She spent her 20's in nursing homes, but in her 30's advocated moving out into the community.
Over the years, she has helped lobby RTD for curb cuts and lifts on buses so people in wheelchairs and the elderly can get around the area. In 1995, she endured six rejections of full price offers to buy a home of her own before becoming one of the first in Colorado to buy her own home through the Hero Alliance founded by DDRC. Now more than 1,800 people with disabilities have purchased homes using this program. She then became the very first person with a disability to pay off her mortgage. She is an active member of Southern Gables Church and helped them figure out how to do a full immersion baptism for someone who uses a wheelchair.
Louise fills her days with volunteer activities. She is continually knitting and provides baby blankets for Baby Rocks and scarves for soldiers in the military. She has rewound tapes for the talking book library to assist people with limited sight like herself. She shares her experiences on accommodations so others can better understand their rights. She helped start the Kiwanis AKtion Club in Jefferson County for people with developmental disabilities and has now helped four other clubs in the Rocky Mountain region get their charters. The AKtion Club provides a wide variety of service projects in the community. She also participates at the Clements Center each week in the hand crafts group and enjoys lunch with other seniors. In spite of all her challenges, Louise has been a very active advocate for people with disabilities and the elderly. DDRC is proud and honored to be a part of Louise's life. Congratulations Louise for receiving this prestigious award.
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Supported Living Services Waiver Changes
In 2005, the federal government's Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) directed that changes occur in Colorado waiver service programs for people with developmental disabilities. Statewide new requirements for individuals in comprehensive (24- hour) services took place January 1, 2009. These were largely unnoticed by families as most revisions affected service agencies and internal DDRC case management and accounting processes.Revisions in the Supported Living Services waiver take place starting July 1, 2009 and have drawn even more attention, as 450 families in our service area will experience direct impacts from the required changes. DDRC estimates 69% of families will see reductions in levels of funding. Further, the popular Supported Living Consultant role has been eliminated. The Annual Service Plan funding amount will be based on a tool called the Supports Intensity Scale. Some of the services have been re-titled and some categories have been re-defined. New, self-directed service options will be available in the coming months.
At this writing, we are still awaiting significant detail on implementing the new waiver requirements. As we gain new information, it is being shared with the families involved. The best local source for developing news is our DDRC website where we have placed background and current material. One can also go directly to the Colorado Division for Developmental Disabilities website (www.cdhs.state. co.us/ddd) for answers to frequently asked questions.
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Staff Honored for Their Many Years of Service
To the left you can see a few of the dedicated people who have committed their lives
to making sure their clients succeed and enjoy a good quality of life. Everyone in
our DDRC community is an important part of delivering quality care and love to the
many individuals who have been a part of 45 years of DDRC history.
Jean Armour, B.S.N., L.P.C. a member of the DDRC Board of Directors, stated in her keynote address at the Staff Awards Ceremony, "My son was two years old when we first enrolled him in DDRC services and he is now forty-one. I am very grateful that we have been able to benefit from these quality services." She also stated, "You at DDRC have touched the lives of many people over the past four and a half decades. Thanks for showing up and loving. Those you have dedicated your lives to appreciate you more than you know."
Staff were honored for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years of service. The two individuals pictured to the right received special recognition for 35 years of helping others at DDRC. Congratulations and thank you all for the good you do!
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DDRC Memorial Garden Dedicated this Spring
Art Hogling, Executive Director
of DDRC and Dianne Hitchingham,
Director of Development led the
dedication of our newest effort to
meet the needs of the community.
"It was a time to remember those whose lives have been touched by DDRC and to welcome a new beginning. The Memorial Garden is truly a newborn, but it's made up of perennials which will be with us for many years to come. We will water and nurture them so this will be a wonderful place to pause and remember those we have loved," reflected Dianne Hitchingham. "This garden has a number of roots and we are grateful for people reminding us that everyone needs to be remembered. Over the years, we have been asked to sponsor memorials for people and Dick Markley has been especially supportive in this effort. We found that this garden is a way that everyone can be included. We have seen the problems some of our folks have grieving the loss of their family members and friends. It was felt that a walkway with bricks to immortalize names of those we have known and loved and a garden with a seat so folks can pause to reflect would be appropriate," stated Dianne.
This is only the beginning of our garden and our remembering folks. Everyone did their best to track down families who have remembered DDRC with memorial gifts. Staff will be adding bricks each fall as we receive more memorials. This would never have been possible without wonderful memorial donations from Dick Markley, Daplyne Monthei, the Stan Lewis family, and many, many others. The DD Foundation Board: Peg Thomas, Nancy Geiger, John Roeske and Josh Stransky were also instrumental in this effort. Thanks also for donations from Paulino Gardens, Rocky Mountain Stonescapes, and Home Depot on South Wadsworth. Another special thank you goes to Megan Martin for helping strip sod and dig in the rocky clay along with Sue Bosch from Recreation. Thankfully Byron Nelson was there every step of the way along with Cris Bell. Bret Werkele and Rick Ridder provided muscle when critically needed.
"Many people truly made this become a reality and we hope this will be meaningful for our DDRC family for many years to come," said Dr. Art Hogling. Our families often feel more deeply than most folks. Let us share a piece from The Power of a Focused Heart: "Allowing ourselves to mourn develops our capacity to feel life's joys. If we push down our sadness and never face it, we inevitably close off other emotions as well—and that limits our experiencing life. Yes, being human brings hurts—but it also offers many delights. As we learn to feel all of our feelings, we explore what it means to be fully human, to be all that God created us to be. Remember, death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come."
DDRC and its Foundation want to continue supporting people with developmental disabilities and their families for all time. Please stop by and enjoy your perennial garden.
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17th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
August 10, 2009 at Red Rocks Country Club Enjoy a great "scramble" and help people with developmental disabilities at the same time!
We are asking you to help by talking to your friends or acquaintances who golf and having them sign up as an individual, be an event sponsor, or let us know of a business owner you know that might consider sponsoring this event. We would be happy to contact them. DDRC relies on the generosity of friends like you and community businesses to continue to support individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. This will be our only major fundraising event in 2009 and is a great opportunity for a company to let community members know about their business. We have several sponsorship levels available to meet your needs! We will also have a silent auction and are looking for donations. Please click here for further information and to sign up as a sponsor or player. DDRC now has hundreds of adults with developmental disabilities who are waiting many years for services. State funding has simply not kept up with people’s significant needs. Proceeds from this event will go to help individuals on waiting lists get connected with their communities. We are calling this a bridge between the years of waiting and getting needed services.
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