HEALTH RELATED:

After 5 years of struggling,
my son is receiving medical therapy
and healthcare appropriate for his needs ...

            Hello! Our family is a special family. We have a child with special needs. When we lived in Los Angeles our child did not have any of the medical services that he was entitled to by law.  This was thanks to our own ignorance, the lack of information available, and also the lack of interest by all the people that could have helped in that County.

            Thank God, my family and I came to Napa more than a year ago.  We started to see a big difference. First, with my child’s school.  The principal and the personnel were interested in my child’s case.

            Thanks to those people, I was introduced to the ParentsCAN organization. An advocate from ParentsCAN was always in contact with me. She helped me start to transmit all of the paperwork for medical services for my child, and that is how the process started for Medi-Cal and California Children’s Services. Thanks to this huge help, we started to see results.  After 5 years of struggling, my son is receiving medical therapy and healthcare appropriate for his needs.

            Thank God for these people at ParentsCAN who dedicate their time to orient us on all of the services that by law are available to all people with special needs. We as a family found in this organization help and understanding from the people that work there. 

            Every day you find out a little more about these people and you realize the humanitarian work that they do. Besides the fact that they teach and orient, the best part is that they understand, because every advocate also has a special family.  Like us they have been through situations very similar.

            I want to send a huge thank you to my advocate and to all of the people like her who put their whole heart in their job to help people like us. Also thank you to all of the people who help make ParentsCAN and other organizations like it possible. But first and foremost I would like to thank our son Christian, who has made us better parents with a desire to learn more and more every day.

This camping experience will provide the
emotional boost the family needs as well as
much-needed fun, rest and relaxation.

 As a Health Care Liaison at ParentsCAN, I was pleased to have played a part in a recreational opportunity for “Tony” and his family. Tony had been diagnosed with leukemia and after experiencing many significant ups and downs, is currently on an upswing.
        
    While researching available summer camps for children with healthcare, mental, and physical disabilities, I thought often of Tony and his family. With several children in the family home, I thought about what it would be like for Tony and his siblings to have a camp experience. I contacted Karen, Tony’s mom, and we discussed the family in general but focused on Tony and his progress.
            Tony was hospitalized for many months, and I had participated in previous meetings and phone calls with Tony’s school to maintain his enrollment. He is currently on maintenance chemotherapy, and has settled into regular physical and occupational therapy. Despite his initial hesitation and shyness in returning to school on a regular basis, he has missed therapy occasionally in order to participate in school activities. According to his mother, he is still fragile but is doing well in readjusting to his life at school.

            What a great opportunity to explore a camp designed to help and support children who have cancer! We spoke at great length about Camp Okizu, a camp designed for children with cancer and their families. Since I had attended the camp several times with my own family, I was able to share our personal experience. There is no better place to go in California for kids who have cancer! They are protected, cared for, and challenged by being with others on the same journey. There is a sibling camp as well, and all programs are free of charge to families.
            Karen was eager to take part in the experience and a camping trip, including transportation, has been arranged for the entire family. This camping experience will provide the emotional boost the family needs as well as much-needed fun, rest and relaxation.