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.