Shrine On Springfield 2014

****This is what I posted on dramabook..... there are tons of other pictures if you check it out there******



Wow! What a beautiful day we had Saturday. I can not thank everyone enough. Without all of you, this fundraiser wouldn’t exist and we wouldn’t be able to give this much back to help Shriners Hospitals help more kids defy the odds.

I was very excited to see our numbers growing again after a small showing last year. We had over 60 supporters show up to the walk and although we did lose the bulk of our Sinai Joe clown friends (thank you Mike for sticking around  ) and a few others to the Claremont Alumni parade, we had 45 adults, kids and babies hit the Toonerville Trail to support this wonderful cause. Jack Snyde, John and Jane Waysville, Sam Putnam, Travis and Beth Putnam, “Fix It”, Tanya McAllister, Julie St. Sauveur, Rachel Harrell, Mike Bamforth and Jan Vann, Lori McElroy, Clyde and Diane Gallion, Darcy and Justin Gallion, and Mrs Ferland and the kindergarten class from Bethlehem NH Elementary School (thanks to Pitre and Julie) turned in 20 gallons of (aluminum can) Tabs For Taylor and all our walkers raised a grand total of $1600.00 for Shriners Hospitals for Children!

Once again, Darcy and Justin Gallion’s clan has smashed the competition. They raised $500 this year for our beloved hospital and I was told that it was mostly thanks to their son Jaxyn’s efforts. Way to go Jaxyn!

We also drew in a few more participants from far away: Our friends Shawn (2012 Potentate of Mt. Sinai) and Jaqi Kincaid made it down from Lyndonville VT,  “Fix It” Gerald Ducharme came up again this year and brought his wife Tami and 3 of their kids followed by our new friend “Railz” Bill MacKinnon, both of Melha Shriners in Springfield MA. Candy and David Desrochers and Julie St. Sauveur made the trek down again from Alton NH and Lisa Boyle came down from Union NH. We also had our first international participants! Johanne Champigny, who was one of Taylor’s Occupational Therapists when we lived on the Canadian border, rode down with her husband Denis Dufour from their home in Canada to join us.

After our wonderfully successful walkathon, we headed down Route 5 to Herrick’s Cove for our Thank You BBQ. We lost a few walkers but held a strong turn out of 40 people. We had tons of food, a crazy water fight which started with itty bitty squirt guns then turned into squirt cannons and water ballons followed by buckets full of water being tossed around, a giant slip n slide, bubbles, wiffle ball and the always hilarious sack race.

A million thanks go out to everyone who helped behind the scene to make this event happen: my husband Jeremy for running my crazy errands, kidnapping Gram, setting up and cooking food, dealing with my craziness with this year after year and putting in the OT to be there Saturday. To Denis Chabot for stopping in to drop off a donation and a TON of fun toys for the kids to play with. They had a BLAST!! To my Dad Ray St. Sauveur and Linda Schettino for making the shirts a possibility again this year. To Doolittles PrintServ for making our awesome stickers and to the Shirt Factory for making our shirts again this year. To Clyde, Justin, Diane Gallion for all your help with getting water and ice, setting up and transporting stuff and cooking and oh my goodness, the list goes on and on! Darcy Gallion for your never ending help with food and drinks and your AWESOME, AWESOME desserts. The minion Shriners were so fantastic!!!! To my mom Candy and “Big Daddy D” David Desrochers for the food gift card, tshirt funds, tab transport and storage, games, toys and entertainment and all your support! To my grandmother Linda Drew for your help with food. To my aunt Lisa for all your help with getting support from Market Basket and the salads and always yummy whoopie pies. Many thanks to  Demoulas Market Basket for the food gift card they donated for our cookout, to the Savings Bank of Walpole for their water donation and Rachel Harrell for all your countless hours of coupon hunting, shopping assistance and saving the day with the canopy to protect our food from the crazy tree ;)

Last but certainly not least, THANK YOU TO OUR SHRINE ON SPRINGFIELD 2014 DONORS:

Clyde and Diane Gallion
Wilson and Rosemary Gallion
Tonya and Shawn Waters
Jim Waryas
Mike Stoudley
JD Allbee
Vern Bothrick
Greg Joslyn
Charlie Lovell
Sheldon Scott
Rick Gramlin
Ellen
Brian Mattson
Harry Thompson
Bob Chiles
Sara Lovell
Megan Blaine
Ralph Squires
Handy Marrell
Todd Given
Jeremy Maskell
Ed Hayl
Deana Merril
Paul Obuchowski
Jim Kirkwood
Lori Peterson
Miles Lovell
Hubert Lovell
Gary Richards
Tanya, Heath, Alexis, Lizzy and Ray
Doc Neill
Steve Chew
Mike Bryant
Bill Hauer
Zeb Webster
"Grandmama" Candy & "Pappa" David Desrochers
Glenn and Lorraine Eckert
Leon Towsley
Travis, Beth, Zane and Aiden Putnam
Connie Rathbun
Sandy
Sean Cole
Shelly Rullo
Nancy Ferguson
Linda Finch
Vicki Currie
Sandy Coutu
Samantha Patterson
Ray Bullock
Lisa Boyle
Linda "GG" Drew
Ruth Brooks
Mitch Hartford
Ron Randlett
Linda Randlett
Jane and Martin Deschaine
Merissa King
Britney Durham
Larissa Baraw
Jan Vann & Mike Bamforth
Shawn & Jaqi Kincaid
Kim and Darrin Stowell
Annette Deas
Dan "Poppo" Putnam
Justin & Darcy Gallion & Jax & Jay
Jarrod and Jill James
Patricia Lally
Carolyn Bigwood
Sean McElroy
Denis Chabot and Great Northern Comfort Home Improvement
Beverly Waysville
Johanne Champigny
Christine Ingram
Kathy Aaro
Heidi Laramee
Laurie Wallace and Kit 'N Kaboodle Consignments
Jim and Lisa Hayes
Paula Searles
Ashtyn Ora and Taylor Marie Honeycutt


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Taylor is now in her 6th “Armie” (and will be receiving her 7th in a few days) thanks to Shriners Hospitals for Children. She received her first 3 arms between 3 months and 22 months of age and now receives a new one about every 12 to 18 months depending how fast she grows. In 5 years, we have raised $10,849.00! That is awesome!!!!  I also want you to understand that Taylor’s medical needs are about as small as they come when Shriners Hospital is involved. Most of the children treated there have serious spinal and orthopedic issues or cleft lip and palate, requiring multiple surgeries and years of follow up treatments. This doesn’t even include the kids who are treated at the Shriners burn hospitals like the one in Boston. I also want you all to know that $10,849 would cover maybe 1 1/2 of her “armies” or 1 leg prosthetic and  it would barely dent the cost of a single surgery. The patients and their families never see a bill for any of it.

Children up to age 18 with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate           are eligible for admission and receive all care in a family-centered environment with no financial obligation to the patient or their families.

Shriners Hospitals rely on the generosity of Shriners, and donors like you, to deliver this mission every day and the need for these hospitals will always be there. We can not prevent children from being born with or developing the conditions that the Shriners Hospitals treat, and no matter how hard we try, we can’t always prevent kids from being injured or burned. Each year, the number of new patients grows, as does the cost to treat and, if possible, correct these ailments  and I hope each year the number of supporters grows as well.

Shriners change the world by caring for kids and helping those kids defy the odds! All of us who have had a loved one treated at their hospitals are eternally grateful and forever in their debt. To everyone who has supported us both past and present and to all who rock their Fez with pride, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

We hope and look forward to seeing you all next summer for Shrine On Springfield 2015!!!!!!!!!!!!

A night with the men of Melha

After my presentation at the VT Shriners Ball this summer, we were invited to the Fall Ceremonial at Melha Shriners in Springfield MA. 

At this ceremony they welcomed new members into their Shrine. This activity is not usually open to "outsiders" but for this ceremony they invited 8 of us to join them. During this celebration, the new members performed a skit. I'm not sure how much of that skit is privileged info so I'll only share a brief, edited bit. Towards the end, as a member narrated the actions happening on the stage, the Masons built a temple. On the top of this temple were stones with different symbols that are very meaningful to the members. They lifted the last of the stones to the top of the temple and the symbol on this one was the Shriners' emblem. As I watched from back stage I was having a hard time keeping myself together. Once the Temple was complete, a child (my eldest daughter Ashtyn), was wheeled, in a wheelchair, out onto the stage and the Shriner picked up the crutches and then the child and carried her.

"No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child" - Abraham Lincoln

I can't even begin to tell you how hard it was not to cry. Even as I write this, I'm tearing up. This is what Shriners do and have done for almost 100 years and all that they do, they do to help children, and one of those children is mine.

After the performance, we watched a video of 2012's Patient Ambassadors and then presentations from the three guest speakers. Two are current Shriners Hospitals patients, and the third, the scary part, was myself. There was a 4th Shriners patient there with us as well but he let his sister Molly do the talking. She did an absolutely wonderful job, as did Meg Moore. It was great to hear their stories and memories of their visits to the Springfield hospital. Its funny, we all had the same fears and now share the same thoughts and experiences, even though our needs and reasons for being there are completely different. I was already nervous about speaking to begin with but then Molly wheeled out onto the floor to share her and her brother's experiences and their love for the hospital, and then Meg wheeled out to do the same as she shared hers with the aid of her computer speaking program, it was all I had not to melt.   

I know that Shriners Hospital does amazing things. I've seen a lot of their miracles first hand but I still sometimes forget just how much they do. And while to some people, having one hand would be the end of the world in their minds, Taylor's needs are so small and she can do anything. Some of the children Shriners Hospitals help, just like the three wonderful patients we met tonight, even after the miracles are done, they are still unable to speak or walk and do other things a lot of us take for granted. 

My presentation began with my video/slideshow of Taylor. I changed it up a little bit so it wasn't the exact same one I showed in Vermont but it still had the same effect. Everyone listened to Lady Gaga sing "Born this way" and watch Taylor begin as a little blip on the ultrasound monitor, receive her first, second, all the way to 5th Armie, see the loving family she has, the Shriners and friends we've met along the way and the finale, one of the best things I have ever experienced.....

...... proof that the Springfield Shriners Hospital would stay open!

And as the video plays, Taylor is dancing around going "That's me! This is my movie" and just captivating the audience. Then, when the music ends, the three of us head to the podium and instead of me talking to the crowd, Taylor took the mic and attempted to tell them something about herself when she was a baby and then said "Thank you" to everyone in the room. They all applauded her and then played her video again so she could dance around some more. Then it was time for me to hold back the tears and try to speak. This was a little easier to do than concentrate as the girls took the stage behind me. They climbed up, they climbed down, they jumped, and just went goofy. As I got to the part of "nothing will ever slow her down" we all kind of laughed as I thanked them for loading the girls up on chocolates, sugar cookies and coca cola before the ceremony. I shared with them a few of our experiences at the Springfield hospital and made sure they know that we love the staff  and even mentioned just how awesome Brock, Jim, Rob and Debi are. 

I somehow managed to get through it without tears and for the second time a bunch of grown men in the audience did not. I met with some of them during the intermission and they shared with me their stories of how they were once Shriners patients or their children were or are and one gentleman was going through a similar ordeal to my ultrasound right now. 

I'll never get used to Shriners thanking me. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't do what I do. They are the miracle workers. I'm just a grateful mom trying to thank them for what they do for all the kids out there.

Our night ended with enjoying the different Shrine groups introducing themselves and showing off their talents. The marching band, the drummers, the highlanders.....let me rephrase that: THE HIGHLANDERS! I get to see them maybe once a year, if i'm lucky. AWESOME! I love bagpipes!!! , the bikers (haha "American made rides up front, all others to the back! YES! ) , the clowns. BRING ON THE CLOWNS! 

Lookout "Schmeckles" I think Ashtyn's in love with "Fix It". And "Clueless", you better get to Clown College, these guys know how to make balloon animals. "Cheer Up" , you had them at "hello".

The girls went out with the clowns as they did their performance and had a blast! And then as the other groups came out, Ashtyn and Taylor bounced balloons on the stage as the "higher ups" tried to listen. Everyone thought it was great as I nervously watched, waiting for the over-tired crankiness to become unstoppable. We said our final goodbyes as they set up for dinner. I knew at any moment Chaos was going to self combust. We headed out to the parking lot and Ashtyn began to sob. One of the Shriners was out front with his Lady and she came to the rescue. She brought the girls over to her car and let them pick out a toy for their ride home. This stopped the waterworks long enough to leave the parking lot but I had to promise her a happy meal to ensure the rest of the ride went smoothly.

Thank you everyone at Melha for showing us a wonderful time and for everything you've done and everything you do.........changing the world by caring for kids and helping those kids defy the odds!

Shrine On Springfield 2012

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Thank you everyone who strolled, roller skated, biked, was carried or walked Shrine On Springfield 2012!

Ellie Uhlig

Zane Putnam

Shawn Kincaid

Jaqi Kincaid

Beth Staples

Aiden Putnam
Wesley Putnam
Sam Putnam
Jess Rock
Justin Gallion
Darcy Lovell
Jayana Newhall

Jaxyn Lovell

Brockton Lovell
Bryan Butler  
Rachel Harrel  
Alana Butler 
Deb Burns 
Christine Brehio
Josh Brehio
Brody Brehio
Madison Brehio

Jack Brehio

Jackie Brehio
Kristi Morris   
Ajlyn Putnam  
Sam Putnam  
Jeremy Honeycutt 
Nina Honeycutt  
Taylor Honeycutt 

Ashtyn Honeycutt 

Julie St. Sauveur 
Ryan Sell 
Diane Gallion  
Clyde Gallion  
Leo LaFlamme 
Linda LaFlamme   
Linda Drew  
Candy Desrochers   
David Desrochers  
Cole Rapini  
Hanna Rapini   
Chris Rapini    
Jessica Bryant  
Cathy Hartmann    
Greg Precourt    
Jessi Dussault   
Charlie Dussault  
Lila Dussault 

Maebel Dussault

Tanya McAllister

And thank you guys for showing up for the walk before running off to conquer your zillions of parades that same morning!

Harold Rock
Mike Bamforth
Paul LaFlamme
Pat Sloan
Steven Stearns
Roger Adams
Wes Jewell
Ed LaFlamme
Thank you donors for enabling us to raise $1720 this year to help Shriners Hospitals for Children continue helping kids defy the odds!

Potentate Mt Sinai #3 Shawn Kincaid and Lady Jaqi
Past Potentate Mt Sinai #3 Leo LaFlamme and Lady Linda
Past Potentate Mt Sinai #3 Kristi Morris
Pastor of First Congregational Church in Springfield VT
Great Northern Comfort Home Improvements & Denis Chabot
John and Jane Waysville
Griffin Construction and The Dussault family
Maurine Parnet
Jack and Jackie Brehio
Empire Beauty Schools Inc
Pam Desrochers
Tonya Harding
Linda Drew
Leslie Huey
Glen and Lorraine Eckert
Candy and David Desrochers
Ashtyn and Taylor Honeycutt
Nicole Wheeler
High Priest of Bektash Richard Quindley
Ron and Sue Precourt
Kit N Kaboodle Consignments and Laurie Wallace
Paula Searles
Jessica Bryant
Beverly Waysville
Lori McElroy
Lisa Schulte
Scott Astle
Doug Hanson
Joanne Blodgett
John Hoscle
Kathy Chicoine
Cindy Stevens
Rick Sharron
Eileen Czechowicz
John Tomlinson
Lorie Desmarais
Stacy Gatto
Debbie Burns
Darcy Lovell
Tracy Lovell
Hubert Lovell
Justin Gallion
Opal Gallion
Miles Brock Lovell
Rich Pummer
Chris Rourke
Liam Smith
Tonya and Shawn Waters
Clyde and Diane Gallion
Bill Hauer
Mike Bryant
Bob Kirkbride
Rusty Towsley
Vinny Croney
Kim Stowell
Donna Jones
Betty Andreson
Bill Barrows
Bill O'Brien
Samantha Kuid
Connie Rathburn
Daniel Putnam
the "BATZ" Putnam family.

And, thank you to all of our tabbies. There are so SO many of you out there!

We had a ton of tabs brought to the walkathon thanks to

Deb Burns
Cole's Cause
Cathy Hartmann

They brought approximatly 40 gallons between them. A lot of the tab collectors had special stories and reasons for getting involved. It was amazing to hear them. The tabs turned in at the walk were from

Anthony LeClair
Rose Palmer
Debbie Burns
Florence Spaulding
Valley Regional Hospital Employees and Patients
Henry Marrotte
Bomar Company
Josh Brehio
Maplewood Nursing Home Employees
Greg Precourt and Cathy Hartmann
Cole's Cause friends and family

***we turned in about 280 gallons of tabs in July.....on top of the 140 gallons in February :)

Thanks again to our suppliers and sponsors

Doolittle's Print Serv
The Ink Factory
Roland III and Sue Irish
Ray St Sauveur and Linda Schettino
Candy and David Desrochers
Ron and Sue Precourt

and thanks to our volluntold cook Greg Precourt for all his hard work and keeping everyone's tummies full.



A huge thanks goes out to everyone who has helped us continue our mission. Your never ending support means the world to us. Every penny and every tab matters! Thank you all so very much. We are all looking forward to next year being even bigger and better than years past and we hope to see all of you as well as some new faces in June 2013!

Taylor rocks the newspaper!

Many thanks to the Springfield Vermont News Blog www.springfieldvt.blogspot.com , the Newport Daily Express www.newportvermontdailyexpress.com and the Shopper http://www.vermontjournal.com/content/shopper-may-30-2012 for helping support us by spreading the word.

- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Tabs For Taylor tab drop 7/2/12

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Shrine On Springfield and Tabs For Taylor

Shrine On Springfield and Tabs For Taylor

Helping Shriners Hospitals continue helping kids defy the odds!

　

Taylor Marie was born like most other babies. A full term, healthy little girl weighing in at 7lbs 7 oz. The only thing that made her birth out of the ordinary, Taylor was born with one hand. Around 6 weeks gestation, Taylor developed a blood clot which prohibited her arm from growing completely. Her left arm ends just below her elbow. Since her birth, she has been a patient of Shriners Hospitals for Children, where she receives prosthetics and participates in upper extremity clinics.

 

Shriners Hospitals for Children® is a health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing specialty pediatric care, innovative research and outstanding teaching programs. Children up to age 18 with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for admission and receive all care in a family-centered environment with no financial obligation to the patient or their families. Shriners Hospitals relies on the generosity of donors to deliver this mission every day.

 

Taylor received her first arm prosthesis at 3 months of age and instantly fell in love. She has always been able to do everything she wants or needs with just her available hand, but as most of us know some tasks are easier with two. Taylor has always been a devout wearer and user of her prosthetics and will show any who see her that they are a useful tool and not an "unnecessary cosmetic" as some believe.

 

In the Spring of 2009, with the economy's rapid decline, the Shriners Hospital system, was faced with the grave possibility of having to close down their Springfield MA facility, where Taylor receives her care, as well as 5 of their other hospitals. Taylor's mother, Nina Honeycutt, along with some of her close friends, set out on a mission to aid in preventing the Springfield facility's shutdown and held a walkathon with the hope of gaining support and awareness to benefit the Springfield Shriners Hospital .

 

Leading up to that first walkathon, the friends realized financial uncertainty was preventing some would be supporters from being able to make monetary donations. The group also learned that Shriners and the Ladies of the Shrine, two of the main groups who support the hospitals, collect aluminum can tabs which benefit the hospitals and patients. The tabs are recycled as scrap and the money made in the process is then used to purchase items needed by the hospitals and patients ranging from books and games to IV pumps and X-ray machines. Tabs money can also be used for personalized adaptive equipment, or added into the transportation fund which assists families with the financial challenges they sometimes face in getting their child to the hospital. This fund also helps families with lodging so they may be nearby while their child is in the hospitals care, as well as covering med flights when a child's life hangs in the balance. These flights can cost thousands of dollars, a bill which a patient will never see or pay. With the assistance of the Old #4 Fire & Hose Ladies Auxiliary of Charlestown NH, Tabs For Taylor was born and people began collecting tabs and donated them to help the Shriners Hospitals as well.

 

The walkathon came to a successful end and the Tabs For Taylor collection continued. During this time, the patients, families and communities US wide, spoke out and showed just how much they needed, loved and appreciated the Shriners Hospitals network and at the Imperial Session in July, the Shriners decided none of the slated 6 would close. But the Honeycutt family's mission did not end there. They continue to host the Shrine On Springfield walkathon each June in Springfield VT and Tabs for Taylor goes year round.

 

The 4^th walkathon, held on June 9,2012, brought several walkers from outside the Connecticut River Valley. Crews arrived from VT's Northeast Kingdom and Alton Bay, NH as well as one very proud Great Grammy from Lakeland Florida, along with several members of Sinai Joe's Clown Unit, and "un-clowned" Mt Sinai Shriners as well as their Potentate Shawn and Lady Jaqi Kincaid. This year's walk total was a bit lower than usual but the group still raised $1,700 which has brought their total to $7,747 in 3 years. And as the Ladies of the Shrine say, "no amount is too small when the cause is so great!" Tabs For Taylor has also grown substantially. Deb Burns brought case after case full of tabs, around 30 gallons worth, from family members, coworkers and patients of Valley Regional Hospital, Cathy Hartman and Greg Precourt arrived with several bags filled as well from friends and staff at Maplewood Nursing Home and our little blue mohawk loving friend Cole (Cole's Cause) arrived just in time with a 6 gallon barrel full from his family in GA to this years walk. Taylor is currently holding onto around 200 gallons of tabs which come from not only NH and VT but as far away as Florida and Texas over the last 4 months! Taylor will drop them off at the Springfield Shriners Hospital on July 2 and bring the total of tabs collected and turned in to approximately 3,078,000 tabs.

 

A huge thank you goes out to everyone everywhere who supports Shriners Hospitals for Children, to all of our walkers, donors, "Tabbies", everyone who helps spread the word.. A special thank you goes out to Sinai Joe's Clown Unit, Mt Sinai Shriners and Ill. Shawn and Lady Jaqi Kincaid, and to all Shriners and Ladies, to our wonderful sponsors: Ray St. Sauveur & Linda Schettino, Candy & David Desrochers, Ron & Sue Precourt and Roland & Sue Irish, Thanks also to Greg Precourt for being our volun-told chef ;) and lastly to our suppliers Doolittle's PrintServ and the Ink Factory. Thank you all again for your continued support. We hope to see you all again next June!

 

 

 

 

 

  

Shriners Ball Photos

Tayt's video from the Shriners Ball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZKgj9UNNgo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

www.totalchaosandmayhem.blogspot.com

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SHrINE ON Springfield 2012 pics

Just a taste to hold ya over ;) More pics and posting to follow :)

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SHrINE ON 2012 Info

www.totalchaosandmayhem.blogspot.com

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SHrINE ON 2012 Donor Form

www.totalchaosandmayhem.blogspot.com

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Playing with Legos at Shriners Hospital

"Legos" YouTube Video

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Mayhem's New Armie "Pink Dora"

Taylor, Ashtyn, my Mom, my Aunt Lisa and I went down to Springfield MA Thursday night to beat the snow and ice storm that was heading our way and ensure we would make it there for Taylor's appointments at Shriners Hospital on Friday. I can honestly say my girls were never so excited to see a hotel room or tub.

We stayed at the Comfort Inn and Suites. My mom went with a suite, as you can see from the enormous tub, and made Ashtyn's night Thursday as the 4 of us bigger people put on our bathing suits and sat in the bubble filled hot tub while Taylor was snoring away. Ashtyn was pretty excited to have some focus-on-ME time. In the morning Taylor was able to splash and play in the tub with big sister and the girls had a blast. Then we filled our tummies with waffles, sausage and yogurt before heading over to Shriners hospital to pick up Taylor's new "PINK DORA" Armie.

Almost as soon as we arrived at the O&P depatment, my thoughts were confirmed.....  My Aunt Lisa's friend, "Big Lisa", gave Taylor a pink Dora dress. No one knew or had any idea that it was almost the exact fabric that Taylor was having put onto her newest Armie.

The only differences between the fabrics are her Armie is darker pink with slightly darker flowers and Dora's hair is more rounded than it is on the fabric of her dress. It was so awesome to see that dress. It couldn't have been more perfect. Taylor was so excited.

I still can not get over how much bigger this Armie is. When we were down for her fitting 2 weeks ago we were actually debating wether or not it was time for a new one. Seeing the old one and new one together pretty much confirmed that it was in fact time.

But the day did not end here.....

We also dropped off our current pile of Tabs For Taylor.

(don't laugh at my swollen face....i had my jaw cut open the morning before this and yes its very swollen and not so comfy)

And then the surprises continue too......

Little Miss Mayhem's Armie is set up to operate not only her hook hand via figure of 9 harness, which is what and how she has been using it since July of last year, but it also has Li'l EZ hand (the one that opens and closes...kind of the exact opposite of the hook hand......she used to have this hand on her green and purple zigzag armie). This hand can be operated with a different cable and harness. AND.....AND......Taylor received the Anchor System!!!!!!!!

For those who do not know about the Anchor System...........

(this article is from SingleHandedSolutions  and Springfield Shriners Blog)

"Debra A. Latour, M Ed, OTR/L, has worked at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Springfield, Mass for 13 years. Before she was employed by the hospital, she was a patient. Her parents sought treatment at Shriners when she was a toddler for an upper limb deficiency.

For many years, Debi used the traditional body-powered prosthesis which is activated by a figure-of-eight or a figure-of-nine harness system, using the opposite shoulder as the power source. Many users of this system complain of discomfort from the harness, typically the rubbing on the skin by the harness, asymmetry of the shoulders, pain in the opposite shoulder area, difficulty while performing tasks with both limbs, and diminished physical appearance. When Debi began to experience her own problems with the usual harness system, she relied on her 30 years of experience to solve her issues.

As a Senior Occupational Therapist, Debi knows exactly how to help patients develop skills needed to live as independently as possible and to help improve the quality of their lives. In an effort to achieve these goals for patients with an upper limb deficiency, she invented a new and improved way of harnessing a body-powered prosthesis called the Ipsilateral Scapular Cutaneous Anchor system (the “Anchor”). Her design eliminates the usual harnessing, often a source of complaint and one reason why children reject prostheses.

Debi submitted a paper on the “Anchor” to the American Academy of Orthotists & Prosthetists which was accepted for presentation at the 2011 Annual Meeting & Scientific Symposium in Orlando, FL. Presentations such as this serve to inform professionals in the community of new and creative solutions in treatment and also promote Shriners Hospitals for Children as a center of innovation and excellence in treatment, research and education.

While attending the symposium, Debi was interviewed by a reporter for O&P Business News. She provides a wonderful account of how her invention and her blog, Single-Handed Solutions, materialized."

THIS ANCHOR SYSTEM HAS BEEN ONLY AVAILABLE TO SHRINERS HOSPITALS PATIENTS!

Until now! 

Debi has been granted sole license to market and manufacture this system and it is now available to everyone. It can be purchased directly from Single-Handed Solutions, LLC. For more information, contact Debi Latour at LatourAnchor@gmail.com

As soon as my little monkies come home next week (they're on vacation with GrandMaMa & Papa) I will be documenting Taylor's experience with this new Anchor technology. I am so excited to be a part of this and I can not wait to tell everyone all about it.

YouTube video of Taylor's new arm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKNyuMtaC9A - Taylor's Newest Prosthetic Arm

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Another Shriners Hospital Adventure

Little Miss Mayhem got her new Dora armie yesterday!

What an adventure.....poor kids.....they were cooped up all day wednesday at my job, then stuck in the car (luckily for me they were asleep) until 1am thursday, then crawl their little bums into the house to continue sleeping until 6:30-7 then get back in the car. We arrived at Shriners at 9:50 and that's where we stayed until around 2:30. (Which actually wasn't a long day there but the girls I think had a slightly different opinion.....)

It was a full on kiddo rainbow in Springfield yesterday. Armies, Leggies, Cleft lip pre and post op, you name it. A building full of beautiful, perfect babies and children. Taylor was the center of Makayla's (also an LBE kiddo) attention. She was pretty excited to see another kid, especially a girl, with a limb difference too. It took Taylor a while to realize other kids there were just like her and then she nubbie bumped everyone including her OT, Debi.

Miss Muffet wasn't always so friendly yesterday though. When she saw her new arm she was all excited. 'Lookie Mom my Dora Armie' and she put it on. Then she took it off and didn't want any part of it. OMG! So Rob (the almighty armie maker/fixer) and I are trying to coax her into cooperating so he can figure out if her harness is too long too small whatever, and Taylor wants no part of it. She is a mini NinJeremya! Wow stubborn much.

We eventually win (with bribery) and she puts armie back on. And the leash (harness) is too long. But she won't wear her [nub] sock and after the battle to get her prosthetic on, we're not taking it off to adjust the leash or address the sock absence. So we run to visit with Debi upstairs for a bit and Taylor shows everyone she can open and close her new hand (this one has the body powered hook instead of the opening closing fakie hand she had last time) and then she takes it off.

Debi showed Taylor how she takes off her prosthetic (she's an all knowing and totally awesome, resourceful, informative....yes I can keep going.... Inventor, blogger, OT, RBE), and how she puts it on trying to get Taylor to do them same with hers. Instead Taylor was all excited and curious about the powder on Debi's nubbie. So Taylor tried to steal her powder by giving repeated nub bumps. So Debi ran around and found Taylor her own bottle of powder. We now have that side track done and Taylor finally shows that she can put on her arm and the leash all on her own.

Next, Taylor shows Debi she can open and close her new armie by opening the hook and then closing it on Debi's nose. Mind you this was Debi's idea, and she pulled back so Taylor didn't cause any harm. Then, in walks a kiddo and her family. Side track number 57......Taylor shows them she can open & close the hand and then takes off her arm to show them her nub. Here we go again. Now she wasn't excited about it again. At this point Rob tracked us down to check on how Taylor was doing and saw his opportunity to adjust her cord and harness so he snagged her new armie to go and fix it up, and we finished up with Debi. We eventually make our way back downstairs to meet back with Rob. Now her arms all set and we have battle royale again. We won and Taylor put on her armie and we were good to go. So we say our goodbyes and make our way to the car. I loaded up the kids and away we went. Taylor was asleep by the time I got to the Shriners Hospital sign, which is literally like 250 feet from the door of the hospital and Ashtyn was out at the I-91 on ramp about 3 miles away. Ahhhhhhh silence :) They woke briefly in Brattleboro long enough to eat a bagel (as Mommy's dumb and forgot to bring cash for lunch) and back out they went for most of the ride back to the almost-Canadian border. We finally got out of the car at 6:45 (and lucky me I got to work 3rd shift after all that).

Back to reality


Since we left Taylor has hard her Dora armie on almost every second she's awake (and sometimes when she's sleeping) and she really likes it. She's so happy she can finally hold things in her armie. I can't thank the Shriners and Shriners Hospital staff enough. Thank you. Truly from the bottom of my heart, you'll never know how wonderful you've made my daughter's life and mine.

- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Lovin' her new arm

Thank you Shriners Hospital- Springfield! Taylor had an ot appointment today and she was uncooperative to say the leasy but once she had a nap and some more checking-things-out-on-her-own time she's doing awesome. She was picking up little sticks and her straw wrapper....all sorts of little things. She doesn't mind the harness at all which was a big fear I had. She's just doing so awesome. I can never thank SHC and all the Shriners enough.

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Seriously, I need to pause life

Everything is flying so fast I barely have time to think about it, let alone write about it. Last Wednesday, Taylor took her first digger. The 3 kids and I were getting ready to run away from the house for a little while and Taylor was last up the (cement) stairs..... suddenly my dog decided she wanted to go back outside.... Taylor going upstairs + Dog RUNNING down stairs = bump and bruise on forehead and road rash on the nubbie. The even more cruddy thing about it is: if she had her prosthetic on, she would have caught herself, therefore not smashing her poor little face and nub. She started acting shy about her nubbie lately so I decided I'd give her a couple days without her arm to "gently force" her to not be embarrassed or whatever about her arm..... nice idea that worked out horribly. So I called down to Shriners and talked to a couple of the OPD crew and had my thoughts confirmed.... no arm until its healed.
A little while later my so far lousy day got better. I received an email from a guy named Jim who saw my Tabs For Taylor ad on Craigslist .... and to my surprise.... this email wasn't spam.... he informed me he had a 5 gallon bucket full of tabs that I could have if I knew a way to get them from him in Rochester..... no problems there thanks to my Aunt Lisa who went and picked them up for me. So that made me pretty happy.
Then, Little Miss Chaos, broke her nite-lite. SCREAMING, bleeding EVERYWHERE, more screaming.
"Where is the glass honey?"
"I broke it in the kitchen"
"Well if you had broken it in here there would be more than just the one piece that was stuck in your finger"
"I brokted it in the kitchen!"
This goes on for 5 minutes while I run frantically around looking for this glass before either of the 2 little ones find it. I then get her band aided up and continue my hunt. I can not for the life of me find it anywhere. She laid down and watched some TV while I continued frantically searching for the pieces of light bulb. I blocked the little ones in the living room so they can't get into the kitchen and find the glass for me..... another couple minutes go by and I hear it. The sound of a little metal pan from the kids kitchen set falls to the floor and lands on the itty bitty pieces of glass. And where is this glass? RIGHT WHERE THE LITTLE ONES ARE PLAYING!!!!! There was a baby doll outfit on top if it so I never saw it. What a monster. Thank God neither of the little ones touched it. I grabbed them and put them into the glass free kitchen and vac'd it up. Once Ashtyn woke up I found out she was trying to hide her nitelite so I wouldn't be mad. She failed, but she won't be touching glass again anytime soon. So my day was kind of back to not great. The phone rings. My father in law is calling to let me know my dog ran away and is at their house. Once the kids all wake up from their naps, we walk down to get her (they live 3 houses away). Taylor and my "borrowed kiddo" are in the stroller and Ashtyn's holding onto the stroller with me and the dog is practically glued to my left knee (the one closest to the road). We get about 30 feet from the end of the side walk where we would cross the street to my house and SQUEEL BAM YELP This idiot hit my dog. The dog limps over to the house and lays down in the yard. I'm standing there stunned thinking: A) my kids are watching their dog die, B) they're going to see me kill that moron and C) they're going to see me die when daddy gets home and finds out "his baby" is dead. I hurry across and check her out and she's okay, just really scared. The 90-someodd year old guy huddles over and asks if she's okay. Once I tell him she's alright he starts going off on me. He's lucky I was the one he dealt with and not Jeremy.
Long story short: Wednesday wasn't a good one, aside from the tabs.
Saturday the kids and I went with Grammy and Grampa Precourt to Yankee Candle and Ashtyn got to make a jarred candle at their wax worx station. She thought that was just the best thing ever. And then we had an awesome lunch at Chandler's (the restaurant at Yankee). Sunday was Ajlyn's birthday party so we hung out at Sam and Rene's house from 11:30 until around 8. We brought up the tractor to do some work in their yard so I got to "play" with the 'bota for a little while which is always fun.
And now for this week: Ashtyn's learning to ride her bike (finally). The little one is just too little for her and we still haven't found (or remembered to look for) the itty bitty inner tubes for the little bike....so I brought down her big one. She did awesome! She went all the way down our street and around the round-about-thing and back up the street a bunch of times. She loved it. Other than that its been normal craziness: getting ready for the birthday party/going away party on the 24th, getting ready to move Jeremy, Ashtyn's school stuff and all the last minute stuff for my Shriners fundraiser. Oh I can't wait for August. I'm not doing ANYTHING! (I hope)

Had to put this one on.... gotta have my princess dress on with my muck boots to play in the mud..... that's Mommy's girl.

SHrINE ON 2010~ Walk for Shriners Hospitals for Children

The info, fliers and sponsor forms are now posted on ShrineOnSpringfield.Blogspot.com Drop me an email or RVSP on facebook so we know who is coming. Thank you to everyone who is supporting Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Taylor's New Arm

We went to Shriners yesterday and picked up Taylor's new arm. Taylor's prosthetist showed me some "sport hands" (as I call them) for bicycle riding, baseball, stuff like that. Its really wonderful that there are so many different attachments to do different things. I was also able to bug Bernadette and Lee for a bit which is always nice. And I brought down our tab collection...... almost 100,000 tabs!!! That was interesting..... trying to carry 4 5-gallon buckets, which were full, as well as my purse, camera and diaper bag....and both girls.

I grabbed the blanket I made for her and she realized right off that her arm matched her blankie.


Ashtyn and Taylor worked their charms on a Shriner that was there in the morning and he gave them each a Potentate pin. Miss Ashtyn decided to wear her chocolate milk instead of drink it so she got to sport the very last Shrine On 09 shirt instead of her St. Patty's Day greens.

You can tell Taylor was exhausted. It was a very long day.....too much car time and not ANY naptime.
I'd jabber on more but no one wants to nap today either so I have to cut it short.