Over
the years I have worn many hats at Parent to Parent:
Supporting Parent, Family Faculty, staff and Board Member. But today I
am
writing to you as a parent. My
journey with Parent to Parent began 13
years ago with the birth of my son James. James was born with a
Congenital
Heart Defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. He required
open-heart
surgery right away in order to live. He would face three more
surgeries.
When someone told
me about a support
group at Parent to Parent, the monthly meetings became my lifeline and Parent to Parent
became my
community. I found my support in the friends from the support group
(creating
lasting relationships for me and for James) and in one-to-one matches I
shared
tears and hopes.
Over time and after
James’ many surgeries, I was able to give to
others the kind of support that helped me through those difficult early
days.
One parent who is a close friend now said, “When we learned of
our son
Eric’s condition, you can only imagine how devastated we were. This was
not
what we planned. This was not the way it was suppose to happen. Then I
met
Julianne Nickerson. She has a beautiful son named James who has
Hypoplastic
Left Heart Syndrome. He had all three surgeries and is thriving. She
came to my
hospital room with pictures of James which gave us hope. And that is
what
Parent to Parent of Vermont does.” click
for her story
I
know this
is the time of year many of you are inundated with requests in the mail
for donations.
You are receiving this letter today because you either have a personal
or
professional connection, with a family or families that have children
with
special needs. You understand the value of Parent to Parent. Last year
alone,
we supported 3,658 families and made 120 parent matches representing 76
different diagnoses including autism, cerebral palsy, prematurity, and
muscular
dystrophy. We met 165 new families through our Family Infant Toddler
Program,
and our Family Faculty volunteers trained 375 new healthcare providers
in
Family-Centered Care.
I
wanted to
share my journey with you, and ask you to please give generously so
that we may
not only continue to support families we already know, but so that we
may also
reach that parent who is perhaps right now receiving a new diagnosis,
or the
one who is sitting in a hospital room with their child as I was 13
years ago.
As I reflect back along the path, I see a constant marker along the way
that is
Parent to Parent. I know that I can look forward to the path ahead as
the
support continues. I thank you for your support to help me along the
way, and
for those families just beginning their journey.
Sincerely,
Julianne
Nickerson
Fall 2006 - In this Issue:
100th Supporting
Parent Training
From Our Director
Circle Of Friends
Family Voices &
Advocacy
Thanks
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