HELPING CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES LIVE THEIR BEST LIFE.
OUR STORY, OUR INSPIRATION, OUR GIFT FROM GOD.
"My husband and I witnessed the benefits of the therapies and different pieces of medical equipment for Blake. We understand what is involved with having a child with special needs and the cost to give them the best quality of life."
My husband and I had two beautiful children, Jordan and Brianna. We decided to finish up our family with our third child, Blake. On January 26, 2002 an induction was scheduled for the delivery of our bundle of joy. Little did we know that everything would go wrong in the blink of an eye. My uterus ruptured and Blake went without oxygen for quite some time. Our little bundle had to fight to survive after he was delivered by emergency caesarian.
Blake suffered multiple seizures and was sedated to control them. As the days passed, the doctor discovered he had no gag or swallow reflex. He could not drink from a bottle like a typical baby. The doctor had to insert a feeding tube through Blake's nose for him to receive his nutritional feedings. The nurses had to suction his saliva so he wouldn’t aspirate and cause pneumonia. Blake became stable and was transferred to Children’s Hospital.
At Children’s, Blake was scheduled for stomach surgery. The surgeons had to perform a procedure so food and drink could go down if he were to gain control of his suck and swallow, but nothing could come back up to avoid aspiration. While in surgery, the doctors removed the tube from his nose and inserted a permanent Mic-key for feedings. The surgery was performed on Valentine’s Day and went well.
Blake went through many tests while in the hospital. The doctors visited us with the results from the tests. The results weren’t good. Blake was diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE). With global damage to his brain, we knew we had a long road ahead of us. Without hesitation, we were going to help our baby in every way possible.
We took Blake home with multiple pieces of equipment. It was a scary ride being on our own with him, but we made it. When we got him home, we immediately started looking for ways to help him. We enrolled Blake in early intervention, physical therapy and occupational therapy.
We never heard our baby cry until the first appointment we had for early intervention. We stopped at a stop light, and he started whaling! It was music to our ears. We laughed, and we cried…it was amazing!
With many goals to reach, Blake had an intense therapy schedule to hold. Blake started speech therapy at age one to help stimulate his sucking and swallowing reflex. When Blake was two, we started looking into alternative therapies. Equine assisted therapy was the alternative therapy of choice. Even though it was expensive, we knew he needed it, and he would benefit from it. We put in a pool for Blake’s water therapies and relaxation. Home modifications were in the planning process for his future. Blake started school on time at age five at Heritage Elementary School. He continued his therapies while in school reaching for the goals set for him.
We lost Blake at age 7 on January 30, 2009. The funeral and burial was a hard thing to swallow, not to mention a huge expense. Because of his special needs, insurance companies would not cover him. We were responsible for all the costs. WOAA will help support families going through this hardship.
My husband and I witnessed the benefits of the therapies and different pieces of medical equipment for Blake. We understand what is involved with having a child with special needs and the cost to give them the best quality of life. Our hearts are full of passion and drive to help families with children and adults who have developmental disabilities here in the Marion community.
OUR VISION
Ensure people with disabilities achieve life goals, improve their quality of life, and to support every aspect of their well being.
OUR MISSION
To provide opportunities for people with disabilities to become more self-sufficient in their everyday lives.
SERVICES
ADULT DAY SUPPORT (THE R.I.S.E. PROGRAM)
R. - RECREATION
I. - INDEPENDENCE
S. - SOCIALIZATION
E. - EDUCATION
The R.I.S.E. program is a respect based, person centered approach that strives for fun and exciting events and community involvement for the individual.
TRANSPORTATION
Wings of an Angel (WOAA) provides transportation for adults and children with disabilities. We provide transportation to and from Wings of an Angel RISE and Marca. WOAA provides community employment transportation between the hours of 9am-4:30pm Please contact your SSA at Marion Board of DD to start riding with Wings!
EQUINE ASSISTED THERAPY
Equine assisted therapies are beneficial to gain head and trunk control. During a riding session, children also are challenged with learning activities.
SERVICE DOGS
Service dogs help the children gain independence. Service dogs help the children with their daily activities; help pick up items the child cannot reach as well as open doors.
SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT
Equipment such as swimming devices, tumble chairs, communication devices, and high chairs.
KIDS SUMMER CAMP
Kids camp is time away for the children to be children. The children do not have a disability; they are just kids at camp.
FUNERAL AND BURIAL EXPENSES
Funeral expenses are a sad reality for the parents of children with disabilities. Life insurance companies will not cover most children with disabilities, placing a huge burden on the parents. WOAA wants to help with those expenses through the tough time.