Family Stories from Parent to Parent

One of our own is going to the Special Olympics World Games beginning June 5th, 2022 in Orlando Florida. Craig Lockard is a 35-year-old athlete that has participated in Special Olympics since 2007.

I held back her hair as the doctor was suctioning behind her ear, asking over and over again, "Are you in pain? Does it hurt?" I watched her face turn red before she finally admitted it hurt.

My name is Brenna, and I love being mom to 2 amazing kids. My oldest child, Isaac was born the day after Christmas. We had experienced infertility struggles for two years prior, and he was the Christmas gift we had long awaited. As a nurse I’ve had the great privilege of watching many families interact with their newborns during those first days and weeks of life. Finally experiencing those moments with our own baby felt almost surreal.

My name is Maribel Ruiz. My daughter, Dalia, was diagnosed with infantile spasms at 4 months of age.

My name is Irma and I am the mother of a little angel Rodrigo. He is my firstborn and because of the lack of experience I did not notice anything until a neighbor told me: Why don't you take him to a Pediatrician? Rodrigo was already almost 18 months old and did not walk, nor did he speak. For me it was normal, it was my baby.

When my son, Joey, was in high school he had very challenging behavior. He has autism; diagnosed at age two with classic infantile autism (now referred to as Level 3 – the most severe form of autism). At age 11 he acquired the additional diagnosis of Bi-Polar Disorder (rapid cycler). This dual diagnosis, along with the frustrations of being non-verbal and fluctuating hormones resulted in destructive and self-injurious (headbanging) behavior. In fact, he never attended school for longer than 3 hours a day.

WWVDN is pleased to announce that Angie Witt will be adding to her role of Parent to Parent Coordinator, and will be serving our community as TRANSITION SPECIALIST! In addition, Ysabel Fuentes has expanded her role of P2P Hispanic Outreach Coordinator and is actively promoting EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN EMPLOYMENT, helping families and employment providers understand the importance of employment for Spanish speakers with disabilities.

This year’s camp had 17 attendees with 5 peer mentors and 3 adult helpers. Camp was so much fun with fire fighter day, rocket day, Fort Walla Walla Museum tour, bug day, and race car day. Summer Camp was funded by United Way.

I first met Amy when WWVDN was picked to be a recipient of the Battle of the Badge baseball game between the firefighters and police officers. Here was this spunky red head running a mile a minute getting everything organized and all the kinks worked out to make the event a great success. Which it was.

El Programa de Padres a Padres da apoyo a familias con miembros con necesidades especiales de salud y discapacidades.
The Parent-to-Parent Program supports families with members with special health care needs and disabilities.

I would like to introduce Parent to Parent’s intern, Kristen Hanson. Kristen is attending WWCC in the Human Services Social Work program. She got into this program and is interested in social work because of her beautiful daughter Hannah who is 8 and is diagnosed with Autism.

Happy Mother’s Day, moms! I hope you are all appropriately honored this month. It’s been nearly 22 years since I became a mother and my list of identities: daughter, sister, wife, grew to include “mom.” My first two daughters, born 17 months apart, changed the way I view myself. My third daughter changed my world.

Five years ago, I graduated from Whitman College after having spent three years in the Whitman College Buddy Program, including a one-year stint as the program coordinator. To say that the Buddy Program shaped my own values and guiding principles would be a vast understatement.

My name is Whitney Lux and I started volunteering with the WWVDN when I was 11 years old. I got involved with the Network when Haley Witt moved into my neighborhood; we instantly clicked and spent countless hours playing together in my front yard. When Angie invited me to attend a training, I knew I had to go.

Hello everyone! My name is Patrick McFetridge and I am an Elementary Physical Education teacher at Edison Elementary. I have been coaching with Parent to Parent for around 17 years which has included baseball, soccer and basketball.