Hi, I’m Mary and I have a passion for connecting families in our area with resources that will benefit their children. My husband and I have been blessed with three beautiful daughters and never would have imagined the story we would be able to share through our own personal trials.
From early on, I knew that my child wasn’t hitting developmental milestones like my niece who was just 13 days younger. I watched as my niece first rolled, then crawled, and finally walked long before my daughter was sitting confidently on her own. It was an obvious distinction and my mommy “red flag” shot straight up, yet we heard from friends and family how we shouldn’t worry, that each child develops differently and at different paces. I heard them, but my gut was telling me something wasn’t right.
Having a background as an educator, I knew how important it was to acknowledge there was a potential problem and start interventions quickly. My husband and I reached out to our pediatrician who referred us to a developmental pediatrician. The developmental pediatrician recognized there was a delay in our daughter’s gross motor skills called hypotonia and that some intervention was beneficial for our family’s situation. Through that doctor’s office, we were then connected with Help Me Grow Early Intervention to help guide us through the unknowns and navigate a process that was new and foreign.
At the time, we were completely overwhelmed and felt pulled in several different directions so the feeling that there was an organization ready and right there to help, made our uncertainties less intimidating.
After the initial referral was made, the call from Help Me Grow came within 48 hours. We set up a day and time for my daughter to be evaluated and so the journey began. Help Me Grow walked alongside my husband and myself, making sure our daughter was hitting the developmental goals we had put in place together as a team.
They came to our home and provided therapies along with play groups with other families that my daughter and I could attend. Through those play groups and therapies, my husband, myself and most importantly, our daughter, had an opportunity to grow, learn and navigate a different way of learning new skills. We felt loved and accepted along with understood.
To say that I found many new friends is an understatement. Help Me Grow became like family and I became an advocate for them…sharing my story with friends and connecting others with the organization so they too could benefit from the services we were graciously provided. I now work for Help Me Grow connecting families with the services we offer. My husband and I feel blessed to have been referred to Help Me Grow Early Intervention. We are grateful that we followed up with the referral and that we went through the process and watched our child flourish because of the amazing care she received from this wonderful county-funded program.
If your mommy/daddy/caregiver heart is concerned about your little one or maybe you know someone who would resonate with our story, I encourage you to act now and don’t wait. Making a referral is easy and quick. You can go to helpmegrow.org and start your journey just as we did ours.
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