by Virginia Ruth Abeyta

Editor's Note:  The following is Part One of a four part blog post by Alta Mira client, Virginia Ruth Abeyta.  Virginia uses special software to write.  We think you'll find her musings on her vacation to Memphis -- complete with adventures in shopping and flying --insightful, inspiring and humorous.  Be sure to check back every week for a new installment.  Enjoy!

Elvis Aron Presley is the King of Rock and Roll
Part 1:  Our Vacation -- Memphis, Tennessee -- Graceland

We flew from Albuquerque, NM to Dallas, Texas.  We got to the airport in Albuquerque and our airplane from Albuquerque to Dallas was late.  So we got off to a late start.  We got to the airport in Dallas thinking we would miss our airplane to Memphis.  We ran so fast to the new gate, only to find out that the plane to Memphis was two hours late, too.  We were hungry and needed a bathroom and had two hours to get both things done.  After we had ordered our lunch and Aunt Bev and I were talking about all the things we were going to do in Memphis when she remembered the time change from Albuquerque to Dallas.  We had only 40 minutes to get our food and get back to the gate.  Our waiter boxed our food and we ran for the gate again.  We made it!  We ate our lunch on the plane.
It was a bumpy flight.  The pilot could not land when we got to Memphis because the airport had closed.  We flew around in circles for a long time, it was real bumpy.  I was a little scared.  We had to go to Little Rock, Ark. because we were low on gas.  We sat on the ground for a long time.  When they opened the airport in Memphis, we took off again. 

It was rainy and cold when we got there.  The shuttle took us to the "Heartbreak Hotel."  The hotel had a real nice gift shop and I got an ELVIS wristwatch.  We got to the hotel and check in.  We went up to our room.  The hotel had pictures of Elvis hanging over our beds, so we can honestly say we sleep with Elvis!  The room was nice and we had two big pictures of Elvis on the wall.  It seemed he was right there with us.  It was late so we had dinner there and went to bed.

The next night we got dressed up to go out to eat.  Aunt Bev called the restaurant and they sent a car for us.  We rode in a Pink Cadillac and we got our picture taken beside it.  The restaurant was called Marlowe's World Famous BBQ.  The food was real good -- I ate too much!  They told us Elvis used to order food from there and have it delivered to Graceland.  They had a gift shop and we bought lots of souvenirs there.  Did I say the food was good?!  We went back to the hotel riding in our Pink Cadillac.  It was getting late so we went to bed and went right to sleep. 

It was rainy and windy and cold, but we didn't mind because we were in Graceland and we were having a good time!

Check out next week's installment when Virginia visits the King's home!

By Nadine Dunning and Nancy Hunt

Many years ago, Margaret began working in a classroom with children with a variety of special needs.  Many of these children had complex medical issues. Working alongside therapists and other specialists, she became very interested in all the information she was exposed to and was eager to learn skills which would benefit these children.

Margaret learned quickly and was very conscientious in her implementation of the techniques the occupational therapist taught her. As the young mom of a child with special needs herself, Margaret began to discover a passion in working with these children. One child in particular was experiencing difficulty learning to sit and stand.  Day after day, she worked with him to stretch his hamstring muscles.  The child’s family had an appointment with an orthopedic doctor at Carrie Tingley Hospital, which at that time was in Truth or Consequences, NM, 150 miles away.  Margaret worked closely with this family, so when the time came to make the trip, they asked her to accompany them and she agreed. 

After examining the child, the doctor diagnosed shortened hamstrings which would require surgery.  Margaret, with a quiet confidence in her knowledge of this child, explained to the doctor that in a sitting position the child had limited trunk control. It was this lack of trunk control, and not shortened hamstrings, that was affecting his ability to sit upright.  She showed the doctor the improved range of motion in his hamstrings, as a result of the stretching exercises they had been doing.  The doctor took all of this information into consideration and changed his diagnosis based on Margaret’s knowledge of this child, saving him from unnecessary surgery! 
 

Toni made a friend. 

Why does that matter, and who cares anyway?

A little over a year ago, Toni moved to New Mexico from out of state.  She has no family here, and until very recently she had no friends.  Work brought her here.  Not really an unusual story.  Yet. 

Toni is the single mom of young twins.  Both have developmental disabilities and both require an arduous amount of time and attention.  Sure, Toni was tired.  Her work was demanding; her children’s needs were sometimes exhausting.  But she could handle it.  Right up until she got the diagnosis:  Cancer.

Imagine facing the prospect of having to undergo surgery to remove cancer and there is absolutely no one in your life that is up to the challenge of caring for your special needs children while you are in the hospital.  Imagine having to undergo chemotherapy and having nowhere to leave your children while you receive treatment.  I guess you’d try to do what Toni did…you take them with you.  The kids get scared and act out in ways that can be disruptive in a medical setting. You get anxious and are tempted to forgo future treatments.  You’re torn between your two worst nightmares:  not surviving and leaving your exceptionally vulnerable children behind; or, having your children removed from your home. 

In the midst of her struggles, someone referred Toni to Alta Mira.  “Alta Mira helped me keep my family together during one of the most difficult times anyone could ever imagine,” Toni reports.  “Respite care from Alta Mira gave me the chance to concentrate a little on my own health care needs.  I take advantage of the time my children are in respite to find additional support in the community.” 

Some of that additional support came in the form of a friend who often volunteers to look after the children while Toni attends to work, appointments or just rests and recovers from the side effects of her treatment. 

Sometimes it doesn’t take a lot to completely transform a life or even a whole family of lives.  Sometimes it just takes a little bit of care at just the right time to get someone back on their feet.

That’s why it matters that Toni made a friend.  And, that’s why we all should care.