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Piedmont
Down Syndrome
Support Network Newsletter
(Summer 2004)
 On
behalf of Jacob Dahlin, Stephen Lawson and myself
we want to thank each and everyone who came out
to support the 2004 Buddy Walk. If you volunteered
your time, donated money, acquired corporate donations
or just came to be a buddy for the day, we feel
you played a vital role in making this Buddy Walk
a success. For those who could not come due to other
circumstances we missed you and hope that you can
make it next year.
We
began the day of fun with a beautiful sunrise and
a wonderful breakfast donated by Costco, Panera
Bread, Krispy Kreme, Entenmann's Bakery and several
others, which will be listed for future reference.
Please visit these stores and support the businesses
that support us. For a list of Corporate Sponsors
go to our website. We had fun things to do for all
the families this year such as face painting, petting
zoo, clowns, and balloons. One of the big hits of
the day were two Carolina Panthers Cheerleaders
who came to sign autographs and pictures. We were
also fortunate enough to have Stephen Reeves and
Brent Bennett sing our favorite country songs. Rodney
Archie from the musical group Soulout sang beautifully
for us again this year. Again you have our thanks.
We
had between 300-400 participants for the day and
I am pleased that we were able to raise close to
$9000.00 with donations still coming in. We also
had several raffle items and lots of food to give
away to participants. This all occurred with only
three months of planning and without directly focusing
on fundraising. We can't wait until next year to
have almost a full year to plan.
We
are now in the process of planning next year's Buddy
Walk, which will be in April 2005. If any of you
have any suggestions regarding the planning of next
year's Buddy Walk, please feel free to call or email
Jacob, Stephen, or myself. We welcome any new ideas
and please email us or call if you wish to volunteer!
We have several committees that need help, so please
don't hesitate to call to offer a helping hand.
We
also need everyone to return the membership form
whether joining as a Registered member or an Associate
member to remain on the mailing list. This will
provide us with an updated database so no one may
be missed in future mailings. This list is being
reformulated from scratch so we can send mailings
only to those who are interested, so if you are
receiving information now and want to continue you
must send in a copy of the registration form (available
on the web site).
Our
upcoming Advisory Counsel Meeting will be August
3rd. A mission statement will be determined and
a variety of subjects will be reviewed including
budget development, next year's Buddy Walk, and
PDSSN committees. If there are any suggestions or
ideas that you have for the officers or Advisory
Counsel, please submit a written proposal to Jacob
or me. As new PDSSN officers, we are here to be
the voice of the membership and any idea that is
given will be reviewed and acted on. The Advisory
Counsel meets four times a year and will act on
proposals as promptly as possible.
Thank you again for making this Buddy Walk a success
and we look forward to meeting each of you soon,
hopefully at the August 14th Family Gathering hosted
by the Newtons at Pfafftown Baptist Church, 4336
Transou Rd., Pfafftown.
Sincerely,
Sherry
Jeffries, shjeffrie@aol.com 993-4751
Jacob Dahlin, JacobDahlin@msn.com 992-3288
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KIDS
Evan
Neal Jeffries was born September 19, 2003.
He was 3 weeks early and weighed 6 lbs. 2
oz. He was good and healthy. After the second
day in the hospital, we were sent home thinking
we had a normal little boy only to find out
2 weeks later at a weight check Evan might
have Down Syndrome. As we sat there completely
in shock, the world at that moment for me
came to a halting stop. Being a nurse, my
mind started to race thinking the very worse.
How could this be? I was supposed to take
care of others not have others take care of
my family and me. I didn't want to admit that
I was helpless and hopeless. While we waited
testing to confirm his diagnosis, we went
through a vicious circle of emotions. Crying
one minute and in denial the next. We clung
to the fact the only thing that alerted the
doctor was the crease in the palm of his hand
and some low muscle tone in his upper body.
Some people ask us if we were outraged the
hospital did not diagnose him. We are, in
fact, glad we did not find out about Evan
in the hospital. It gave us the time we needed
to process and research everything we could
and to realize nothing had really changed.
He was the beautiful boy God created and we
wanted and dreamed of.
In
the meantime, a woman from our church brought
us the support note-book. We can't tell you
how much we needed the support at that time.
We received several phone calls and prayers
from people. This made things a reality and
reminded us we still had a baby boy who needed
our care. We believe that strengthened our
coping skills tremendously.
We
finally received the final diagnosis and were
referred to Dr. Tamison Jewitt. She treated
Evan like her own. After several tests, Evan
did not have any heart problems. He does have
some low muscle tone in his upper body, but
otherwise is a healthy 6-month old boy. Evan
is now enrolled in the Babies program and
gets stronger every day. He also has a spunky
5 year old sister, Jessie, who will be a great
example for him once she gets over the jealously
of having a new baby brother.
I
don't know what the future holds for Evan
and this family. Does any family know what
tomorrow brings? I do know that education,
advocacy and lots of love will allow our children
to succeed to their fullest potential. We
are truly blessed that God chose us to be
Evan's parents. We will continue to take one
day at a time, say lots of prayers and remember
GOD DOESN'T MAKE MISTAKES. Please feel free
to call us anytime.
Scottie,
Sherry, Jessie and Evan Jeffries 993-4751.
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HELPFUL
WEBSITES
AlexisPlaySafe.com
offers both re-usable and disposable Swim-sters
Swim Diapers, swim diaper swimsuits for boys
and girls, as well as floatation swim wear.
hwtears.com
Handwriting without tears is the easy way
to teach pre-printing, printing, and cursive.
B.A.B.I.E.S./EARLY
CHILDHOOD INTERVENTION
The Early Intervention Network Service Delivery
System in North Carolina was set up in 1990
so three agencies were "Lead Agency"
for specific areas. The Health Dept. was Lead
Agency for Child Services Coordination, The
Developmental Evaluation Clinics were responsible
for Evaluations and the Mental Health Centers
were responsible for Early Intervention Services.
The North Carolina Design Plan for Early Intervention
requires the Developmental Evaluation Clinics
to transform into Children's Developmental
Services Agencies. There will be 18 "CDSAs"
across the state. The CDSA will be the local
management entity for Early Intervention Services
for the Infant-Toddler Program. It will be
Lead Agency for evaluations, service coordination,
development of IFSPs, authorizing and monitoring
services, and conduit for some payment for
services.
Transitioning into a new private nonprofit
named HopeRidge Centers for Behavioral Health
on 7/1/04 in a department named Wrap Around
Services. It will be a service provider whom
the CDSA may refer to following development
of the IFSP. B.A.B.I.E.S. will provide special
instruction, physical therapy, occupational
therapy and speech therapy in homes, daycares
or family daycare homes.
Historically B.A.B.I.E.S. has served Forsyth,
Stokes, and Davie Counties. After July 1,
2004, B.A.B.I.E.S. will serve the CDSA catchment
area which is Davie, Davidson, Forsyth, Stokes,
Surry, and Yadkin Counties, and will continue
to provide Intervention in the baby's natural
environment using a Transdisciplinary Team
Model.
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ADVISORY
COUNSEL
(minimum of 10: maximum of 16)
Jacob Dahlin Chair of PDSSN
Phone: 336-992-3288
Email: JacobDahlin@msn.com
jdahlin@isurity.com
Sherry
Jeffries Co-Chair PDSSn
Phone: 336-993-4751
Email: shjeffrie@aol.com
Bill
Donahue Chair of Advisory Counsel
Phone: 336-922-0530
336-734-2848 (work)
Email: woolard@triad.rr.com
donohb@ncarts.edu
John
Fuller Co-Chair Advisory Counsel
Phone: 336-998-5341
Email: fullerarch@aol.com
Kristine
Drum Treasurer
Phone: 336-766-1291
Email: triplethefun_3@yahoo.com
Aleta
Lilly Secretary
Phone: 336-591-1182
Email: Abella5@msn.com
Traci
Newton
Phone: 336-463-5632
Email: Tdeertrackfarm@aol.com
Diane
Hulburt
Phone: 336-998-8362
Email: Broeckburt@aol.com
Phyllis
Marshall-Rice
Phone: 336-778-1824
Email: Phyllis_marshall-rice@hermanmiller.com
Stephen
Lawson
Phone: 336-998-4595
Email: werfamily4love@yahoo.com
Will
McGuirt
Phone: 336-768-3361
Email: wmcguirtjr@triad.rr.com
Tamison
Jewett
Phone: 336-713-7572
Email: tjewett@wfubmc.edu
Bailey
Liipfert
Phone: 336-725-0583
Email: bliipfer@craigebrawley.com
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Deborah
Woolard
Phone: 336-922-0530336-774-2437 (work)
Email: woolard@triad.rr.com
Richard
Allen
Phone: 336-631-9708
Email: mjallen4am@aol.com
Michael
Allen
Phone: 336-631-9708
Email: mjallen4am@aol.com
CURRENT PDSSN MEMBERSHIP
Allen,
Michael & Shari
Anders, Bill & Kathy
Bare, Stephanie
Barnhill, Bruce & Kathylyn
Barnhill, Norton & Robin
Bennett, Bobby & Tootsie
Bissell, Michael & Connie
Boggan, Leonard & Cheryl
Britt, Steven & Mitzi
Byerly, Wayne & Pat
Cain, Bob & Louise
Canon, Jimmy & Nita
Chia, K.L. & Nancy
Dahlin, Jacob & Lori
Dills, Sam & Katy
Donohue, Bill & Deborah Woolard
Drum, Jon & Kristine
Eaton, Wayne & Suzanne
Ebbitt, Jeff & Jodie
Faulkner, Scott & Kristen
Fuller, John & Anike
Hall, David & Martha
Harvell, Michael & Karen
Hogan, Audrey
Hulburt, Diane
Jeffries, Scottie & Sherry
Kelsey, Chris
King, Jeff & Donna
Lawson, Stephen & Alicia
McGee, Mac & Karen
McGuirt, Will
Mouton, Dwight & Vanessa
Mustin, Von & Cheryl
Myracle, John & Carolyn
Newton, Brian & Traci
Noles, Amy
Nunley, George & Geryl
Reeves, Susan
Rice, Ron & Phyllis Marshall
Rippey, David & Marylee
Rushing, Bret & Julie
Sandoval, Felipe & Rosa Lopez
Sechrest, Tim & Dawn
Severt, Nancy
Silvernail, Ralph & Marjorie
Sizemore, Sandy & Connie
Smith, Kelly & Gail
Varner, Craig & Patti
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 SUMMER
FAMILY GATHERING
Our
summer family gathering is Saturday, August 14,
2004, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at Pfafftown Baptist
Church Fellowship Hall (4336 Transou Rd., Pfafftown).
Brian, Traci, Hannah and Abby Newton are our hosts.
Please RSVP by Aug 9 to Traci at 463-5632 or email:
Tdeertrackfarm@aol.com.
Dinner
will be served beginning at 5:30 PM. Menu includes
lasagna, salad, bread, dessert and drinks. Peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches will be available for
anyone who doesn't eat lasagna. PBC Youth Ministry
will provide childcare.
A
business meeting will be held after the meal. The
Advisory Counsel will report on their August 3rd
meeting. Also, an up dated Buddy Walk report will
be given.
If
you haven't attended a family gathering before,
this is an excellent opportunity to meet other families.
Make plans now to enjoy a delicious home cooked
meal and free childcare Saturday, August 14!
Pfafftown
Baptist Church is located on Transou Road near the
intersection of Hwy 65 and Hwy 67 (Reynolda Road)
just 3 miles west of Old Town Shopping Center. From
Business 40, take Silas Creek Exit (Northbound).
Take Silas Creek to Wake Forest University and take
a left onto Reynolda Road. Continue on Reynolda
Road (approximately 7 miles) take a left on Transou
Road. The church is immediately on the right.
Helen
Johnson (editor)
PO Box 91
Pfafftown, NC 27040
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