Update: May 20, 2006

Dear Friends of Natalia,

My name is ThereseAnn.  I am married to Stephen, have four children, the youngest, Natalia who is 5 years old.  Natalia was born with a Chromosome abnormality called Trisomy 13 – Patau Syndrome.  (You may be more familiar with Down syndrome, which is Trisomy 21)  Although many children with Trisomy 13 do not make it past the first year of life, Natalia is charting her own course.
 
Having attended Blind Children’s Learning Center (BCLC) for just 8 months, we have seen tremendous progress as they have addressed her visual needs as well as her cognitive needs.

I never knew BCLC existed till Natalia was born.  I do believe it is one of the best programs in Orange County that addresses the early childhood needs of the visually impaired.  BCLC provides a total communication program, which not only helps the visually impaired, but also helps with cognitive development.

I wanted to give you the opportunity to join us in the 5K walk on Saturday, June 10, 2006. Natalia will start the walk in her wheelchair…and we’ll end with her crossing the finish line in her walker. Please consider joining us there is a fun party afterwards with air-bounces,  food and fun, I hear there may even be a surprise visit from someone special? Contributions are appreciated but NOT REQUIRED to WALK
 
If you don’t want to walk but are curious in what this school offers, here are some links below. Recently at a Mother’s tea, Minnie Arrived.  Natalia is in the second to the last photo decorating a flowerpot with the help of her teacher and an employee of Disney. www.blindkids.org/new/disney4.html

Many small and large businesses work very closely with the development office.  I have been totally impressed with the amount of interaction this school has with the business community.  It’s just amazing. I personally didn’t know so many businesses out there sponsored programs like this.  It is very heartwarming to see others reach out so the school can fund all they do.  I would invite you to look at their website and see if you would like to help in some way.  Personally,  or with your Business.   Just being on this campus daily is uplifting as they are doing wonderful work.  You can see some of what these Businesses do in the “Thanks so Much” section on this home page.  

Extraordinary Parents is a support group for parents with children that have special needs. The group is run by parents for parents and generally meets every two weeks. Orange County, California Extraordinary Parents contact info@extraordinaryparents.org

If you cannot attend the walk and party and would like to help in some way, Here is a page set up for Natalia so we can help this school raise funds to continue all they do.

If you try to donate and $0 comes up...just email me  (therese@livingwithtrisomy13.org) and I'll be sure the glitch gets fixed and your amount donated is added to Natalia’s – Team Inspired by an Angel page...Please note 5K WALK in the Subject section...thanks.
 
 On a more personal note:
The first year of Natalia’s life we opened a web site (www.thehealingpowerofprayer.com )to share her story and our personal journey with this diagnosis.  It grew so much that we pulled off the Trisomy 13 support and now we have a site specifically for Trisomy 13 support www.livingwithtrisomy13.org.  There are many heartwarming stories of families who have embraced each moment they have had with their children, some just had minutes…  So now you know what I do in my spare time when I’m not playing chess online with family members around the country.  For those of you who enjoy playing Chess, here is this link too.  Let me know if you want to play and I’ll send you an invite.
 
Hope you all have and or had a terrific weekend.
Blessings,
ThereseAnn
therese@livingwithtrisomy13.org
 

Blessings to you all,
Thank you for sharing in our precious Natalia,
ThereseAnn  ....Click here to read more>