This message board is now read-only.
Click here to go to the Active Message Board
Uno Mas! Message Board
|
This message board is now read-only. Click here to go to the Active Message Board |
Uno Mas! Message Board |
THE NEW MESSAGE BOARD IS ONLINE AND READY TO FLY! Sorry to make you guys hop back and forth between the two ... but some people have this page bookmarked and will come to this one, I expect.So here is the new message board. I'll make it stand out so no-one misses it:
Tricky, Huh?
Come on over and join the fun!
Hi everyone, I need some advice from those of you who have had kids in Hippotherapy (horse therapy!). Nicholas went for the first time this morning. He loves to talk about animals, but when he gets up to them he's afraid. He wouldn't pet the horses or sit on one. This place is a fifty minute drive to get there and very expensive. I don't have money and time to waste if he won't go on the horse! I know I need to have patience, but is there anything we can try to speed it up?Adrienne - unfortunately, we had the AFP with Nicholas, and it came back NEGATIVE. Hmmmm....
Steff - How old is Olivia, and what are you doing to have her talk to well?
Denise - thanks for thinking of us!!! And Chris is pretty awesome, isn't he?! YEAH STEVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please tell him congratulations from me!
Does Anyone know WHY all these people looking for babysitting jobs keep posting on the BB??? They leave their PHONE NUMBERS!! The last one even left her area code!! I don't use babysitters anyway but if I did I would never leave my child in the hands of someone who would post their phone # on the internet. That is just plum irresponsible!~Radonna
Thanks Radonna!!!!!!!Hi everyone .I've got the kids tied up downstairs(just kidding) so I can have a few moments.
Adrienne so glad your doing well.IT'S A GIRL!!!!!Congratulations.Hey Russell what's doin young man. Hear your making your momma proud.One day I will make it down your way.We'll do lunch(very L.A.)LOL...LOL... I'll try to e-mail you soon.
Tonight I'm gonna try to catch up on posts from the last couple of days but now I shall write a novel...
Well last week we flew to Toronto on vacation. My hubby's relatives live there.Olivia has never flown because of lung prob's in the past but she's been great all winter so off we went.I would highly recommend flying in the middle of the night with 2 small children.After takeokk the kids fell fast asleep until we landed.Olivia, of course, had to greet and say hello to everyone as they boarded.Ah geez....Kyle was facinated by his captains wings and cool airplane trading cards. Cute.I enjoyed our vacation immensely.It was even nicer to take a break from therapy, school, etc.I noticed that Olivia's speech has improved sooo much in it's clarity.I swear she sounds like an english teacher enunciating every sound.She's starting to go from single words to putting two and three words together.She learned, where are we? how are you? and a few more.I relish every thing she says cause there was a possibility she would never speak if her surgery at 8 months didn't go as planned.It was right next to her vocal chords and if she didn't have such awesome surgeons and dr.'s at UCLA she might never have spoken.Every time I wish she'd just BE QUIET FOR ONE MOMENT. I take a look at the scar on her body and thank God.I'm outta here a fight is ensuing!!!!
Hiya Shawna; Nathaniel is doing great :) He is starting to accept some foods orally and that excites me :) :) We are keeping our fingers crossed that the trach comes out in Aug too! I want to hear his voice!!!! He has such a little personality too :) He has a temper too, gee wonder where he gets that from ;p today we have the lady coming who does the multi-sensory stuff. I forgot, his feeds are also up to 100mls per hour now and he is taking them with no problems :) woohoo :) Sara
Steff!! I am so glad your back
Paula:I loved Ethan's new glasses!! He is so adorable. Hannah is a very pretty little girl too.
Diana: Rasberries!!LOL. Kaden started that at 2 years old and has been doing it every since!! Once I TRIED to break him from it, he started making this HORRID noise in the back of his throat like someone coughing up a lugy. His Therepist said it was self stimulation. So between the rasberries and the lugy the rasberry was so much easy to deal with! That is how Kaden greets everyone now.
Jackie: Your last post really makes me think. I have a lot of my own dreams for Kaden that might not suit him at all. I think the perfect situation with Kaden is anywhere with a lot of FOOD!!! I just want Kaden to be happy!
Judi. Naia's story!!! WOW It has really got me thinking and as soon as I organize my thoughts I will post them. I just got done with the Story a few minutes ago.
Shawna. I have the first three parts of Naia's story if you want to read them! I don't know if you read what you sent me or not.
Adrienne: Good to see you!! Welcome back!
Lorena: I get roped into watching my neighbors kids to!! I could spend 24/7 with my kids as hyper as Kaden gets and NEVER get to aggervated with him. But my kids are really "GOOD" kids. I have watched some destructive kids that I couldn't wait for them to go home! As much as Kaden messes the only thing that ever gets tore up here is our curtains and blinds!!
Susan: When do you get that puter???
To all that are new here, my name is Radonna and I have 2 beautiful boys Kaden and Jonathan. I am married to a very longsuffering man named John. We have a cat hating dog named Maxx. Kaden has Down syndrome and Jonathan don't.
Okay I have kinda organized my thoughts on the article.
First of all when I read the 90% I just COULDN'T believe it. I just don't understand why the choice is that hard for amyone. These are Women who WANTS a baby and wants to be a Mother, just because they have Ds they will have an abortion. What if you could know before hand that your child would have spinal menegitis at some point in his or her life that is painful and sometimes results in death, but wouldn't you give your child the chance??
I realized my answers to the WHY 90% halfway rests on the Doctors that encourage it!! I can't tell you how many times they tried to bully me into an amnio or an abortion. I don't like the thought of abortion in general, but it just makes me way more upset when the baby has Ds. I read the perfect way to describe my feeling the other day. It is like saying that MY SON don't deserve the chance to live! That he is not valuable!!
The article made the pain this couple was going through real, and they themselves said that they are so glad they choose to have Naia. Anyone that hasn't read it READ IT it is worth the time!
Well I have a very LONG day ahead of me. TTFN
Radonna
Hey Everyone, Having a good day today so far ( as me later after I watch my neighors kids for her this afternoon.LOL) Clark had PT this morning and was walkig like a champ...and balancing himself!!! He is gonna do it on his own soon...I just know it !!! We went to Burger King for lunch.....Clark loves French Fries...ALOT!!!LOL We are home now awaiting my neighbors little girls...Wondering why I told her I would watch them....I guess I am too nice to say NO.Alice: It is so good to hear from you again !!! So gald that Luke is doine well!!!
Radonna : Clark's nickname is Bubba...Caleb's is Bubby and Craig's is MEAT...from Football..the coaches started that when he started playing midget football at age 8.( he is 13 soon to be 14). Mine is going to make you laugh!!! Are you ready???? It is Weiner...My dad did that to me,because I looked like a weiner wrapped in a banket when I came home from the hospital...and my family still calls me that. I am Aunt Weiner to all my neices and nephews on my side. I guess I will never out grow it !!!
Shawna: Clark never did take a nap yesterday!!! He is a nap fighter....He is so tired and I know that he is but he refuses to take one most days. Now about 4:30 yesterday I was starting dinner and guess what...he is nodding off and I said NO WAY buddy and got his brothers to entertain him till I got finished !!! He is hardheaded like his Father !!!
Well Girlfriends I need to go and prepare for the little critters that are comming over soon. Have a good day !!!
Love ya,
Hugs to all,
Lorena
HELLO ALL YOU STANGERS!!!!Well my computer monitor is doing ok this am so I thought I would pop in to give you our family update!
I am at 20 weeks of pregnancy this week. Half way there!!! We had our ultrasound. (the official one) and..... IT'S A GIRL!!!!!! We are very happy. We feel very blessed. The AFP came back negative too. We kinda wanted Russell to be the man of the house. He will have two sisters to take care of him. We are very excited.
Now on a Russell note... Boy has he taken off lately. He climbs on the coffee table, uses his walker thing with wheels and can walk with it and it now helping me feed him. He is offering his hand to help the spoon. We are very happy! He even claps with you when you say, "YEAH RUSSELL!". Oh yeah, we are working on him playing ball with us. He knows what the ball is and can put it in our hand sometimes when we ask. He can pick the ball out of a group of toys when we ask to get the ball. He will throw the ball around the living room and laugh hysterically!! He thinks he is soooo funny. We do to! LOL He even screams at his toys when they don't do what he wants. He is a nut!!!
Well, I have to go now. I am sorry I didn't read any posts. I do miss you all but my monitor is still going purple and blue at times so I don't stay on line long.
Bunches of hugs to everyone!!!!!!!
Adrienne :)
Hi Everybody!Don't know when this will get posted, but will try for this morning, at least for Some of it.
Jackie, Emily sounds like Michael. He gets bored at home too! To write a book, here' my inexpert advice...Just start writing, then go back and edit! Once I have things all written down, then I can go back and change things, but my basic idea is there! I didn't get your cow-flinging e-mail. Please send it to the Lawman address.
Radonna, an Uncle David TOO? LOL
Mary L, hi, how is Patrick doing these days? Probably keeping you hopping! LOL
Alissa, you still get to be Princess, don't worry! How big was Erin at birth? Michael was 8lb, 4 oz, and weighed about 9 1/2 at 3 months. Now, he's about 50 lbs
The "He doesn't look VERY DS bugs me a little too. Most people think he's about 4 and are surprised to find he's nearly 9. I'm glad he looks younger, his behavior is "more in line" with his apparent age than his chronological age!
Radonna, I like your "hearing test"! I think that ENT was kind of rude...Nope, you didn't offend me! Here is Michael's "school song" - for swimming days! lol
You're going to school and school is cool.
And today you get to go into the swimming pool!
You get to run, have lots of fun,
'Cause school is cool!!Susan, sorry to hear computer is going bonkers! LOL Soon, a new one...!!
Brenda H., sorry to hear things are not going smoothly at home, and will definitely be praying. Doesn't it always seem that everything happens at once?
Ro, Teddy is sooo funny!
Patty, your song for Kaila was sooo cute!
Mary T, people are sometimes "embarassed" around DS people - strange, isn't it? Your "Be Gentle" poem was wonderful. It's in my collection now.
Ro, better be careful around Teddy, it might start raining gophers or something soon! Frog story was sooo funny!
Judi, you're NOT sane? And here I thought I was the only one! Sometimes crazy is the only way to be...... LOL I'm glad that Sam's cluv geet were healed with the casts and surgery! how long were the boys in the hospital after birth? Michael was blue at birth, so was in Intensive Care Nursery for 5 days, and that was a LONG time to me!
Sara, how's Nathaniel doing these days?
Denise, I like Mountain Dew too! I heard it's different in the States than in Canada! Wanna trade and put it to the test? My neighbors don't get the CHANCE to call anybody if Michael is gone. 20 minutes, and it's call the cops. We usually call them back right away and cancel! I hope you're feeling better! Hey Stevie, good luck in the third grade!
Lorena, try going offline to type your post! Or type it in another program, I would use Word myself and then "cut and paste" it in. I just go offline and start typing away! I know about the "man who is a boy" syndrome too! LOL Hi Keith! Hope you're having a good day! LOL Did Clark finally get his nap?
Jackie, OK, you can be Queen Jackie! Princess Emily, are you listening? LOL Don't you know that God gave us children to be our personal slaves until they're grown up and out of the house? LOL Your post about how you write your post was fine. I generally only respond to what's been posted. I'm afraid that if they don't post, I tend to forget them! Others here are better to remember the seldom-posters!
Paula,I'm sorry to hear that Ethan's not feeling well. That infection sounds scary. Is it anything like pneumonia. Michael had it once and it was terrible when he couldn't breathe properly! Portugal sounds so ROMANTIC! I've barely left Alberta, let alone Canada!
Radonna, Kaden weighed 6 lb at 6 months! Walking at 13 months! Way to go, Kaden! Michael is also extremely flexible. I'm thinking of gymnastics for him! You're giving me a reputation that's hard to live up to! Give us your eye surgeon's e-mail. We'll MAKE him give Kaden the surgery! Let me know if I can do anything to help. If you send Jonathon up here prepaid, I could babysit! LOL
Jackie, I think photos on disk is good. I believe you can then upload them directly into the computer, but I'm no expert!
Becky, I hope the bike shorts work, and if you can't get the funding or whatever, try just using some girls leotards or legwarmers - they are only a few dollars! I really think it helped Michael. Now you don't like your "very cool" lamps? Can't you send them back? Glad your towels are "cool" That's VERY important! LOL
Ro,
How did you change your font?
Sherri, Tomorrow for Jared's eye surgery. Thanks for reminding me. In all my copious notes, I note he has surgery, but not the date! LOL I'll be praying and looking forward to hearing how it went!
Alice, glad that you're back. My hubby is also jealous of my Unomas time. When he's back home, it will probably decrease radically! I may have to give up my crown! That's not until fall, though. I'm glad the EI teacher is finally coming out. I bet she said you were doing all the right things all along!
Patty, a home with DS adults, what a great dream! That's so neat!
Alissa, glad that you weren't left with all"big posts"!
Michael's nicknames were "Mr. Chicken-legs" when he was little and now he gets "mikies" Nothing too elaborate. My parents had: Diddle, Gink, Wart, and Ig!
Ro, you were sure busy!! Teddy and the Hot Peppers, sounded so cute! Reminds me of Michael and his "don't like"!
Diana, I hoope the horse-riding thing goes better this time, maybe with his brother it will be okay!
Now, for anyone looking for "An Everday Courage", here it is.....
**************************************************
An everyday courage
Despite battles, physical and emotional, 21-year-old Ashley Wolfe remains irrepressible
By Bella English, Globe Correspondent, 3/9/2000
OMERVILLE - She received a standing ovation when she spoke at her high school graduation. She's currently in her third year at Lesley College in Cambridge. She recently played a role in the NBC drama, ''Third Watch.'' Two afternoons a week, she volunteers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. She has a new job at Harvard's Fogg Art Museum. She also has Down syndrome.
When Ashley Wolfe was born 21 years ago, her parents knew at once something was wrong, though ''wrong'' is not the word they would choose. Nancy and Stanton Wolfe consider their daughter pretty perfect the way she is. ''She just has a little extra chromosome,'' her mother says.
And that is how Ashley Wolfe has tried to live her life: putting that extra chromosome in its place. ''Having Down syndrome is just one little part of me,'' she says. On a recent day, she looks pretty much like any other young person: wearing jeans, a red shirt, gold star earrings, pouring a cup of tea for a visitor in the Union Square apartment she shares with two other students.
Yes, there are the vision problems, the speech that will slur if her vigilant attention to enunciation drifts, the gait problems that come from having one leg shorter than the other, the social problems that dog those with Down syndrome. But she wants people to know there's more to her than a medical diagnosis. ''Back in the early ages,'' she says, ''people with Downs were called mongoloids and they would institutionalize them. My parents really wanted me to be mainstreamed. I'm glad.''
It was in the recovery room that the Wolfes learned for certain their newborn had Down syndrome, a genetic condition that causes multiple problems, including mental retardation, and occurs in one of every 800-1,000 live births.
The pediatrician arrived just after Ashley and said two things the Wolfes will never forget: ''She's beautiful,'' and ''Her heart's perfect.'' Many Down babies have serious heart defects. For Ashley's good heart, her parents were grateful.
But there were other folks whose comments cut deeply. ''Are you taking her home?'' was a question the parents heard often those first several hours.
There was never any doubt that Ashley would be well loved and supported. From the start, the Wolfes wanted her to be mainstreamed, which meant that she was in many regular classes, where she had her own aide. For other subjects, she went to the resource room, which offered smaller classes for slower learners. By the time she graduated from Simsbury High School outside Hartford, she had made the honor roll seven times. She had even taken Spanish. ''I had to work extremely hard to do that,'' says Ashley. ''My parents made me study extremely hard.''
A powerful message
But her crowning achievement thus far came on graduation night in June 1997. She stood at the podium before 3,000 people and delivered a powerful message of hope called ''Opening Eyes, Opening Minds.'' She and several other students had auditioned in front of a faculty committee; only three were chosen. ''I wrote it,'' says Ashley, ''but I had help from my parents and speech therapist.''
Principal Dennis Carrithers remembers the speech well. ''It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen at any school,'' he says. ''She spoke about the things she learned here, the people who mattered to her. When she finished, people were on their feet, wiping away tears.
''She's a really strong lesson that we never want to set limits on people,'' Carrithers says, ''because we have these wonderful surprises like Ashley.''
That's not to say life has been easy. ''It's been a very big struggle for both me and my parents,'' Ashley says, sitting at her kitchen table, her appointment book in front of her. She is proud of the fact that she is organized, right down to a list of questions to ask the reporter. (''When will the story run? What section?'') ''I have to write everything down,'' she says, ''or I might not remember.''
The social issues have been as painful as the physical ones. ''People said, `Does she have potential? Is there a future for her?''' she recalls. ''In school, labels are put on. `Oh, you're a special ed student.' The normal kids didn't want to be around us. I had very few friends.''
It's not that other children overtly teased Ashley, her mother says, but neither did they seek her out. ''We joined the Brownies and stuff like that,'' Nancy Wolfe says, ''but I think she was always unsure of herself around kids her own age.''
When Ashley was 7, she underwent several operations for dislocated hips and spent two years in a cast from her toes to her waist. ''I basically had to learn to walk again,'' she says. Years of physical and speech therapy followed. When complimented on her speech, she smiles. ''Thank you,'' she says. ''It took a long time. Every once in a while, I do get lazy with my speech. I'll have people tell me to please repeat things.''
Obviously, Ashley Wolfe is on the high end of those with Down syndrome. Her main cognitive problems are with math and directions, and health issues remain. She is not able to drive.
To help her with time - she has trouble with clock faces - her parents bought her a digital watch. ''She's always way early, just to protect herself,'' says Nancy Wolfe, an actress who runs a summer arts program at Wesleyan University. Money is another problem: she simply has difficulty handling it.
Ashley describes her limitations this way: ''I have a very hard time with integration. That basically means putting things together, like walking into a situation and making sense of it.''
`Irrepressible spirit'
One of her mother's favorite pictures is of Ashley as a 3-year-old. ''She had these long blond pigtails, an eye patch, glasses and braces on her legs, and she was dancing around the living room,'' says Nancy Wolfe. ''She has this irrepressible spirit. Sometimes, she calls me up and cries. I just say, `No, it isn't fair, Ash.' If you had told me three years ago that she would be living on her own and balancing her checkbook I wouldn't have believed it. She has continued to raise the bar for us.''
Her father describes her as ''nothing short of a miracle.'' His expectations for her? ''I never allowed myself expectations,'' he says, ''but I also never had limitations, and I think that is key. I felt there was no limit on what she could accomplish.'' Her greatest achievement? ''Who she is.''
That Ashley has achieved so much is due in large part to her family. Stan Wolfe is a facial surgeon who recently went back to school and earned a master's degree in public health. He is now oral health director, as well as supervisor of school and primary health, for the Connecticut Department of Public Health. Nancy Wolfe has worked with multiply-handicapped kids in the theater. The couple were determined to give Ashley the most normal life they could.
But perhaps their greatest gift was Rebecca. ''Rebecca,'' says Ashley with a smile, ''is wonderful.'' Rebecca is the sister who arrived 31/2 years before Ashley. A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard, Rebecca also lives in Somerville. One of her earliest memories is being told that her very special sister had just been born. One of her best memories is Ashley's graduation speech. ''It's one of those things,'' she says, ''where you felt bad for the person who had to go after her.''
''We are very close,'' Ashley says. ''I take the bus to her house.''
`Shley' is what Rebecca calls her younger sister. She is unabashedly proud of her, and has always felt more a little mother than a big sister. ''There's a lot of sadness for me around not ever having a normal sister relationship,'' she concedes. When she was in college, Rebecca Wolfe wrote a story for a student magazine called, ''Hero Worship: How Down Syndrome Challenged the Love Between Two Sisters.'' In it, she recounted the fierceness with which she protected her sister - and the embarrassment she sometimes felt.
''I'd spent my elementary years terrified that someone would make fun of me for Ashley. I hated myself for feeling even a little ashamed of her, and dared them to try it,'' she wrote. ''I will always have conflicting and confusing emotions of love, admiration, frustration, and sadness for her.''
Today, Rebecca Wolfe is the program coordinator for GEAR UP - Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs - which aims to increase the number of Boston's poor minority youth who go on to college. She majored in sociology with a focus on urban education and for five years has taught in the Boston public schools. She has no doubt that her save-the-world philosophy is due in large part to Ashley.
Lifelong bond
''From a very early age,'' she says, ''I've been aware of people who don't have as many choices as others.'' Last year, she was feeling itchy to leave Boston but decided against it. ''Ashley is the major reason,'' she says. Her parents have never pushed her to stay.
''It's been a godsend,'' admits Nancy Wolfe, who visits her daughters regularly. She adds: ''We have never said to Becca, `Take Ashley out to lunch, take Ashley to the movies.' In fact, I have continually said to her, do not make your life plans because of Ashley. That's our issue, not yours.''
But Rebecca knows that her life will always be closely linked to her sister's, and her parents know Ashley will always need some support. ''I think I will always feel a great deal of responsibility for Ashley.'' Rebecca says. ''And I want to be around.''
Recently, Ashley has suffered from fibromyalgia, a painful muscular-skeletal disorder, and gastro-intestinal problems. Rebecca has had to leave work early to take her for medical appointments. If it's cold outside, she'll remind Ashley to dress warmly. When Ashley felt ostracized by others at Lesley, Rebecca was furious, telling her sister, ''they're a bunch of idiots.'' Boy advice? Rebecca Wolfe laughs. ''If anything, she gives me advice.''
Rebecca has endured the well-meaning but ignorant comments of friends, such as: ''People with Down syndrome are always so happy and loving.'' She likens life with Ashley to a bed of roses. ''There are lots of thorns, lots of upkeep, lots of fertilizing, lots of water. But the roses still bring a smile to your face.'' If she were pregnant, Rebecca Wolfe would have the amniocentesis her mother never did. ''I'd want to have the knowledge ahead of time,'' she says.
After some initial adjustment problems at Lesley, Ashley has made friends and recently broke up with a boyfriend she met there. He has multiple disabilities, but not Down syndrome. ''It was a bad match,'' Ashley says. ''He wasn't respecting my needs.''
Last weekend, she was invited to a birthday party in Natick. She and a friend - who is in a wheelchair - met at South Station and went together. ''It just blew my mind,'' says her mother. ''They figured out the time, schedule, where to meet, where to go, how much money they needed.''
The two-year certificate Ashley earned at Lesley is geared to people with learning disabilities and other handicaps; she is only the second Down syndrome student to enroll. She graduated last May and is now taking part in a transition year where students learn to live independently, paying their own bills, cooking their own meals, getting around on their own. An adviser checks on her and her roommates weekly.
''Ashley is verbally quite advanced but cognitively there are limitations,'' says Carol Noveck, coordinator of career services for Threshold. ''She is a wonderful and dynamic example of what a person with a good self concept, with courage, with support, with love can dream about.''
Love and hope
One of Ashley's dreams came true recently when she snagged a guest role on ''Third Watch.'' She played the part of a 15-year-old handicapped girl whose boyfriend is accused of raping her. (''But it was really consensual,'' Ashley says). Her mother, who models, acts and teaches drama, helped her get the part and stayed on the set with her. Ashley, a gold medalist swimmer in the Special Olympics, also gives speeches about living with Down syndrome.
''My goal is to change the way people think about us,'' she says. ''I do have special needs, but I have special abilities. I just want to be seen as who I am.''
In a booklet she created while at Harvard, Rebecca Wolfe compiled photographs from Ashley's life and helped her sister put words to them. It is called, ''A Different Kind of Knowledge'' and is dedicated: ''For Shley-shley, who has the courage to wake up every single day with the knowledge of the constant challenges and frustrations she will have to face. And who still gets out of bed. All the love a sister can give.''
At one point, Ashley wrote: ''I am not too sure about the future. I just do the best I can do. Maybe have a job, get married, have kids. Because everyone has to work because we need money and we need to find love and hope.''
On the last page, there is a picture of Rebecca holding Ashley tight. Ashley concluded: ''I talked a lot about how painful it is that I do have Down syndrome and all of the obsticles [sic]. I try and not let them take over me. I just can't.''
This story ran on page F01 of the Boston Globe on 3/9/2000. © Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.
*******************************************************
Time to go to work!
Ciao for now.
Shawna
Found it! Here's the Ashley Wolfe Story called "An Everyday Courage" that ran in the Boston Globe in March.An everyday courage By Bella English, Globe Correspondent, 3/9/2000 SOMERVILLE - She received a standing ovation when she spoke at her high school graduation. She's currently in her third year at Lesley College in Cambridge. She recently played a role in the NBC drama, ''Third Watch.'' Two afternoons a week, she volunteers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. She has a new job at Harvard's Fogg Art Museum. She also has Down syndrome. When Ashley Wolfe was born 21 years ago, her parents knew at once something was wrong, though ''wrong'' is not the word they would choose. Nancy and Stanton Wolfe consider their daughter pretty perfect the way she is. 'She just has a little extra chromosome,'' her mother says. And that is how Ashley Wolfe has tried to live her life: putting that extra chromosome in its place. ''Having Down syndrome is just one little part of me,'' she says. On a recent day, she looks pretty much like any other young person: wearing jeans, a red shirt, gold star earrings, pouring a cup of tea for a visitor in the Union Square apartment she shares with two other students. yes, there are the vision problems, the speech that will slur if her vigilant attention to enunciation drifts, the gait problems that come from having one leg shorter than the other, the social problems that dog those with Down syndrome. But she wants people to know there's more to her than a medical diagnosis. ''Back in the early ages,'' she says, ''people with Downs were called mongoloids and they would institutionalize them. My parents really wanted me to be mainstreamed. I'm glad.'' It was in the recovery room that the Wolfes learned for certain their newborn had Down syndrome, a genetic condition that causes multiple problems, including mental retardation, and occurs in one of every 800-1,000 live births. The pediatrician arrived just after Ashley and said two things the Wolfes will never forget: ''She beautiful,'' and ''Her heart's perfect.'' Many Down babies have serious heart defects. For Ashley's good heart, her parents were grateful. But there were other folks whose comments cut deeply. ''Are you taking her home?''was a question the parents heard often those first several hours. There was never any doubt that Ashley would be well loved and supported. From the start, the Wolfes wanted her to be mainstreamed, which meant that she was in many regular classes, where she had her own aide. For other subjects, she went to the resource room, which offered smaller classes for slower learners. By the time she graduated from Simsbury High School outside Hartford, she had made the honor roll seven times. She had even taken Spanish. ''I had to work extremely hard to do that,'' says Ashley. ''My parents made me study extremely hard.'' A powerful message But her crowning achievement thus far came on graduation night in June 1997. She stood at the podium before 3,000 people and delivered a powerful message of hope called ''Opening Eyes, Opening Minds.'' She and several other students had auditioned in front of a faculty committee; only three were chosen. ''I wrote it,'' says Ashley, ''but I had help from my parents and speech therapist.'' Principal Dennis Carrithers remembers the speech well. ''It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen at any school,'' he says. ''She spoke about the things she learned here, the people who mattered to her. When she finished, people were on their feet, wiping away tears. ''She's a really strong lesson that we never want to set limits on people,'' Carrithers says, ''because we have these wonderful surprises like Ashley.'' That's not to say life has been easy. ''It's been a very big struggle for both me and my parents,'' Ashley says, sitting at her kitchen table, her appointment book in front of her. She is proud of the fact that she is organized, right down to a list of questions to ask the reporter. (''When will the story run? What section?'') ''I have to write everything down,'' she says, ''or I might not remember.'' The social issues have been as painful as the physical ones. ''People said, `Does she have potential? Is there a future for her?''' she recalls. ''In school, labels are put on. `Oh, you're a special ed student.' The normal kids didn't want to be around us. I had very few friends.'' It's not that other children overtly teased Ashley, her mother says, but neither did they seek her out. ''We joined the Brownies and stuff like that,'' Nancy Wolfe says, ''but I think she was always unsure of herself around kids her own age.'' When Ashley was 7, she underwent several operations for dislocated hips and spent two years in a cast from her toes to her waist. ''I basically had to learn to walk again,'' she says. Years of physical and speech therapy followed. When complimented on her speech, she smiles. ''Thank you,'' she says. ''It took a long time. Every once in a while, I do get lazy with my speech. I'll have people tell me to please repeat things.'' Obviously, Ashley Wolfe is on the high end of those with Down syndrome. Her main cognitive problems are with math and directions, and health issues remain. She is not able to drive. To help her with time - she has trouble with clock faces - her parents bought her a digital watch. ''She's always way early, just to protect herself,'' says Nancy Wolfe, an actress who runs a summer arts program at Wesleyan University. Money is another problem: she simply has difficulty handling it. Ashley describes her limitations this way: ''I have a very hard time with integration. That basically means putting things together, like walking into a situation and making sense of it.'' `Irrepressible spirit' One of her mother's favorite pictures is of Ashley as a 3-year-old. ''She had these long blond pigtails, an eye patch, glasses and braces on her legs, and she was dancing around the living room,'' says Nancy Wolfe. ''She has this irrepressible spirit. Sometimes, she calls me up and cries. I just say, `No, it isn't fair, Ash.' If you had told me three years ago that she would be living on her own and balancing her checkbook I wouldn't have believed it. She has continued to raise the bar for us.'' Her father describes her as ''nothing short of a miracle.'' His expectations for her? ''I never allowed myself expectations,'' he says, ''but I also never had limitations, and I think that is key. I felt there was no limit on what she could accomplish.'' Her greatest achievement? ''Who she is.'' That Ashley has achieved so much is due in large part to her family. Stan Wolfe is a facial surgeon who recently went back to school and earned a master's degree in public health. He is now oral health director, as well as supervisor of school and primary health, for the Connecticut Department of Public Health. Nancy Wolfe has worked with multiply-handicapped kids in the theater. The couple were determined to give Ashley the most normal life they could. But perhaps their greatest gift was Rebecca. ''Rebecca,'' says Ashley with a smile, ''is wonderful.'' Rebecca is the sister who arrived 31/2 years before Ashley. A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard, Rebecca also lives in Somerville. One of her earliest memories is being told that her very special sister had just been born. One of her best memories is Ashley's graduation speech. ''It's one of those things,'' she says, ''where you felt bad for the person who had to go after her.'' ''We are very close,'' Ashley says. ''I take the bus to her house.'' `Shley' is what Rebecca calls her younger sister. She is unabashedly proud of her, and has always felt more a little mother than a big sister. ''There's a lot of sadness for me around not ever having a normal sister relationship,'' she concedes. When she was in college, Rebecca Wolfe wrote a story for a student magazine called, ''Hero Worship: How Down Syndrome Challenged the Love Between Two Sisters.'' In it, she recounted the fierceness with which she protected her sister - and the embarrassment she sometimes felt. ''I'd spent my elementary years terrified that someone would make fun of me for Ashley. I hated myself for feeling even a little ashamed of her, and dared them to try it,'' she wrote. ''I will always have conflicting and confusing emotions of love, admiration, frustration, and sadness for her.'' Today, Rebecca Wolfe is the program coordinator for GEAR UP - Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs - which aims to increase the number of Boston's poor minority youth who go on to college. She majored in sociology with a focus on urban education and for five years has taught in the Boston public schools. She has no doubt that her save-the-world philosophy is due in large part to Ashley. Lifelong bond ''From a very early age,'' she says, ''I've been aware of people who don't have as many choices as others.'' Last year, she was feeling itchy to leave Boston but decided against it. ''Ashley is the major reason,'' she says. Her parents have never pushed her to stay. ''It's been a godsend,'' admits Nancy Wolfe, who visits her daughters regularly. She adds: ''We have never said to Becca, `Take Ashley out to lunch, take Ashley to the movies.' In fact, I have continually said to her, do not make your life plans because of Ashley. That's our issue, not yours.'' But Rebecca knows that her life will always be closely linked to her sister's, and her parents know Ashley will always need some support. ''I think I will always feel a great deal of responsibility for Ashley.'' Rebecca says. ''And I want to be around.'' Recently, Ashley has suffered from fibromyalgia, a painful muscular-skeletal disorder, and gastro-intestinal problems. Rebecca has had to leave work early to take her for medical appointments. If it's cold outside, she'll remind Ashley to dress warmly. When Ashley felt ostracized by others at Lesley, Rebecca was furious, telling her sister, ''they're a bunch of idiots.'' Boy advice? Rebecca Wolfe laughs. ''If anything, she gives me advice.'' Rebecca has endured the well-meaning but ignorant comments of friends, such as: ''People with Down syndrome are always so happy and loving.'' She likens life with Ashley to a bed of roses. ''There are lots of thorns, lots of upkeep, lots of fertilizing, lots of water. But the roses still bring a smile to your face.'' If she were pregnant, Rebecca Wolfe would have the amniocentesis her mother never did. ''I'd want to have the knowledge ahead of time,'' she says. After some initial adjustment problems at Lesley, Ashley has made friends and recently broke up with a boyfriend she met there. He has multiple disabilities, but not Down syndrome. ''It was a bad match,'' Ashley says. ''He wasn't respecting my needs.'' Last weekend, she was invited to a birthday party in Natick. She and a friend - who is in a wheelchair - met at South Station and went together. ''It just blew my mind,'' says her mother. ''They figured out the time, schedule, where to meet, where to go, how much money they needed.'' The two-year certificate Ashley earned at Lesley is geared to people with learning disabilities and other handicaps; she is only the second Down syndrome student to enroll. She graduated last May and is now taking part in a transition year where students learn to live independently, paying their own bills, cooking their own meals, getting around on their own. An adviser checks on her and her roommates weekly. ''Ashley is verbally quite advanced but cognitively there are limitations,'' says Carol Noveck, coordinator of career services for Threshold. ''She is a wonderful and dynamic example of what a person with a good self concept, with courage, with support, with love can dream about.'' Love and hope One of Ashley's dreams came true recently when she snagged a guest role on ''Third Watch.'' She played the part of a 15-year-old handicapped girl whose boyfriend is accused of raping her. (''But it was really consensual,'' Ashley says). Her mother, who models, acts and teaches drama, helped her get the part and stayed on the set with her. Ashley, a gold medalist swimmer in the Special Olympics, also gives speeches about living with Down syndrome. ''My goal is to change the way people think about us,'' she says. ''I do have special needs, but I have special abilities. I just want to be seen as who I am.'' In a booklet she created while at Harvard, Rebecca Wolfe compiled photographs from Ashley's life and helped her sister put words to them. It is called, ''A Different Kind of Knowledge'' and is dedicated: ''For Shley-shley, who has the courage to wake up every single day with the knowledge of the constant challenges and frustrations she will have to face. And who still gets out of bed. All the love a sister can give.'' At one point, Ashley wrote: ''I am not too sure about the future. I just do the best I can do. Maybe have a job, get married, have kids. Because everyone has to work because we need money and we need to find love and hope.'' On the last page, there is a picture of Rebecca holding Ashley tight. Ashley concluded: ''I talked a lot about how painful it is that I do have Down syndrome and all of the obsticles [sic]. I try and not let them take over me. I just can't.'' **This story ran on page F01 of the Boston Globe on 3/9/2000.
Hi everyone!!!!We're back....Well it's been over a week and I missed you guys.We went to Toronto on vacation for 8 days and arrived back this morn at 3 am.Needless to say, I am very tired but glad to be home.
Let me introduce myself before I blabbity-blab.My name is Stephanie .My family consists of myself,hubby Jeff, Kyle (3 going on 10) and Olivia(2 and a half)We live in Los Angeles, CA.,actually (Westchester, CA.) about 5 minutes from LAX.My hubby is a ticket broker and I'm a stay at home mom.Jeff travels a LOT!!!!!We parted company last night at the Detroit airport and I won't see him again till July 3.So you shall be getting tired of my posts soon cause I tend to post more when he's gone.Anyways I have a 3 year old named Kyle who is a great kid who LOVES his 2 and a half year old sis Olivia who happens to have been born with ds. Olivia is such a funny and great kid and I might add very cute(I'm slightly biased)She is a big time talker,not shy in the least bit and LOVES to socialize,and play outside.I'd say the only time I ever get a really big attitude is when we must come indoors.SHE FREAKS OUT!!!!!
I missed everyone here at uno mas and will post more later about our very fun Toronto vacation and Olivia antics.The kiddos must eat and I am going on 3 hrs. sleep so if at any time today I make no sense you'll know why.Missed ya !!!See ya later.
I just wanted to write a quick hello. I have not read any posts yet, so have no responses, but I wanted to brag about how great Erin did today with her PT :)Her PT was so happy with her head control and tracking and she even did a half-roll, but then got stuck !! And Erin has alwyas been a chatterbug "talking" away to anyone who gives her attention.
She is sound asleep now hahaha a little bit of exercise wiped her right out !
I'll post more later
Paula - LOVE Ethan's pic with his new glasses ---he's SOOOOO cute!!! [:-)]
Radonna; I just checked out the Naia story (at the link above), and was able to access all six parts, by clicking on them, on at a time, on the menu on the left hand side of the screen. Maybe it's your browser or ISP?If you still can't accesss them that way, let me know and I'll try to e:mail you the links to the sections you can't see separately and we'll see if that works!
Judi
First of all...Jackie - you are a woman who should be so proud of all you've done for your daughter!!! You sound like a remarkable woman, and even on my 21" monitor, you're a giant!!! Look at Emily - I hear such wonderful things about her, and what all she's doing, and what you do for her - good Lord, you let her go 200 miles away to college!!! {I would be terrified if Kelly wanted to go so far away!!!!!} You are a SUPER MOM in my book!!! (Are you sure that Emily is not the 'hormone'?? LOLOLOL)Ro, very cool "Hola"!!!!! LOVED that one!
About the clique thing - I can relate! There are many times I feel sorry for myself about not feeling 'in' - but then, I post up and forget about it and finally realize that it's my mood that makes me feel that way. I, for one, may not respond to all posts, I'm guilty of that!!! But I do read each one and give a 'post' in my thoughts to each of you as I read - No one here is ever overlooked by anyone!!!! :-)
I wish there was a way to go back and forth from here to the message board, cause most of the time I don't have a lot of time to take notes - I read very fast, have to with all these kids!!!
I LOVE reading each of your posts! John thinks I'm nuts too, and he also tends to get a bit 'jealous' if I'm online when he's home. It's ok if he is, but not me. He's weird. Not really. Actually, kind of. Sometimes. But aren't we all??? He's a pretty good guy, I guess. I think sometimes I'm a pretty good gal. And maybe a little weird. Sometimes. I guess we're a good match. LOL [;-)]
Oh, two more days of peace and quiet - then SCHOOL'S OUT!!!!!!!!!!! Did I say peace and quiet??? Tomorrow I go to the park with my 7th grader's class, and Friday I take my 4th grader's guitar & amp to school for his musical 'debut' (LOL), and then stay for his picnic. So the last two peaceful days with my boys in school I am spending with them at school. Am I a glutten for punishment or what??? LOL
Guess it's time to get off here - I'm thinking and saying prayers for ALL the little ones with surgeries upcoming! Esp. Erin, cause she's so tiny - (((HUG)))!!! Have a wonderful day, everyone!!! ~~~~~~~Beck
Alissa: I also had the Ashley Wolfe story in the Boston Globe bookmarked, but it doesn't work anymore! I think you can still get the story from the Archives, but you have to pay $2.00 I think. I'm gonna check the archives for my multiples list serve and see if the full text was posted there. If so, I'll post here (if that's ok!).Radonna: I'll see what I can find about Naia. When I first read it, all 6 parts had already been published so I was able to read the whole story at one shot. I'll see if I can find your "missing links"!
Gonna be hot here in Dallas again today, but not as hot as Jackie will be up in the pan-handle! Keep Cool Jackie & Emily! BTW, I can't wait until the boys are old enuf to participate in Special Olympics!!! I still have a few years to go!
Judi
Mornin"What fun reading this AM :) It is going to be another scorcher in Texas. Yesterday our high was 103! An hour away in Childress, Tex was 115!!!!!!! I remember dreading the heat when Emily was little......it absolutely robbed her of what little body tone she had. One year we took a creative movements class in a gym that wasn't airconditioned and my poor little 5 yr old would sit (inappropriately , I'm sure) on the floor and weakly wave her little shiny dance banner while all the others were frolicking around like it was in the middle of winter. Now that she's grown, the heat doesn't seem to matter.
I am having a personal struggle about where we are with Emily now. I have finally found some sites for olders with DS and everyone seems so driven to "create" the perfect situation for their young adult. "Perfect Situation" for Emily and me has entirely different meanings. For ME it would be an apartment with a non-disabled roommate on a convenient bus line with a ride to her job in a law office where she would be the runner for the firm. After hours she would be included with her non-disabled peers in happy hour and perhaps dinner from time to time. She would come home tidy up her space and then begin to write her memoirs and answer emails from other individuals with DS. Before she went to bed, she would prepare her resume for appearances in TV dramas and commercials and would then consider writing a story about her life as a person with a disability who has overcome everything to live totally normally. LOL
EMILY'S "perfect situation" would certainly include the apartment...maybe the job....and the bus so she could get to the Mall. Would not include writing anything and I'm sure she intends to hire a cleaning lady. Oh yes, the most important...guys...lots of guys!
There is among some of these parents talk...lots of talk...and papers being written documenting how adults with DS need all these things to be happy. I'm begiinning to think I am not progressive enough in my plans for Emily. The way I look at it is that I have had the unique opportunity to separate from her (200 miles between us is real separation) and look at HER wants and needs, her abilities, and her level of motivation apart from mine. I feel like I was far too controlling for so many years and while I didn't really do anything wrong, I did delay Emily's emergence as "Emily".
Even though we strongly deny it, I think we parents of kids with DS do tend to focus on the disability....we are always trying to Normalize them when maybe what we really should be doing is trying harder to get others to accept them better.... DS and all. Sometimes I cringe when I look back and recall my expectations for Emily as a young child. I don't think it hurt her at all, don't get me wrong, but I don't think it was particularly fair to her. She was often put in situations where she just didn't have a clue...all in the name of inclusion and her ambitious mother. There is nothing wrong with admitting you have a disability and having friendships with others who have a disability. We avoided for several yrs. Special Olympics because advocates told us it was too segregated. The first time at age 11 that Emily went to a Sp Olyp practice she was like a duckling who just found her mamma duck on the pond. She has had a large group of friends for years because of her involvment. Yes Elvis and Kenny (the walking hormone) are athletes.
The "perfect situation" for a person with DS just hasn't been discovered yet.....maybe they have found it when they mapped the 21 chromosome and just haven't named it yet???!!!LOL!
Nuff serious stuff......My hubby who is on the Board of Sp Olympic Texas is off to Dallas for Summer Games and a meeting. We couldn't get enough tickets (holiday time) to fly with him so Em and I will batch it for a few days. RO ...are Teddy and Lara going? It has been in your neck of the woods for the last 3 years. If you get the Texas Sp Olymp Torchbearer...check out this issue. They did a feature of a young man named Saul and the picture they used is one of him and Emily at a conference in DC last summer for Youths with Disabilities.
HAIRDRESSERS WHO ARE MOMS OF KIDS WITH DS......Today is cut and color day with Eddie and Antionio (no they're not !!!!! LOL). They DO think they are pretty cute and it is a loooooooong 3 hours in their shop. Last time they were hooked on Lou Bega and had his CD on perpetual repeat. LOL
Any advice on what I posted would be appreciated.
Sherri.......sorry about the extra R in Jared
Jackie
Was there any doubt I belonged:)LOL
Okay T was suppose to be TESTING:)It was me and I give:)(for know)
To most it should appear as curly writting but on my computer it is just plain writing:( something about my settings.
*sigh*
So how am I related to D.S.?????
I have the very well behaved(NOT:) young man(16) named Teddy. He sports this sleek g-tube:( soon to remove I hope:) He has had his trach removed a couple of years ago:) No heart problems but quite alot of KNEE surgeries to help keep his knee cap in place.Tendon had to be STRETCHED. He take seizure medicine a couple times a day.
All this with a smile everyday:)
Healthy as a horse I have to admit with all these little things compared to some:)
He is a jewel and so funny:) He is my stepson but he feels like mine:) We have a blast when he is here on visitations:)
He is here at Christmas and all summer:)
At present we are putting in our garden.
Farmer Teddy approves of the things I planted except one:) "Them PEPPRS HOT I not et".
Well Enough about me :)
Alice how come you run so far off?:( we all got worried.
Kids have to go to school this morning and then tomorrow is the last day so I have to go do my MOMMY thing right now:)
"GET OUT OF BED NOW":)LOL
LOVE YA ALL
RO
p.s. WHERE IS TINA AND THE MAGNIFICANT 7??????
Oh Tina please post let us know how the summer is progressing.:)
Hi Moms and DadsFor all the children who are having upcoming surgery's my prayers are with you, please keep us posted.
Paula Ethan looks so cute in his glasses, see you worried for nothing.Tell Hannah I think she does look like a princess she is a very pretty girl.
Alice...I am so glad things are going good for you, sounds like you have gotten a good start for your baby.
Anyone else have trouble with there little one blowing rassberry's, Jarrett does it all the time it was cute at first but now it's almost to the point I need to wear a shield when I feed him! He also does this to strangers, when I tell him to say hi to people who approach him he blows them a rassberry they just laugh at it but I really dont want him doing that.
We are going back on the horse tomorrow, this time his 15 yr old brother will ride with him, hope he makes friends with the horse this week or it will be another long ride. lol
Take care everyone and go check out Paula's son Ethan with his new glasses, it is sure to put a smile on your face.
(((hugs)))
Diana
Hi everyone!Nope, I haven't died yet, I'm still around to write and write...
It has been mentioned a few times that we "oldtimers" need to remember not everyone automatically knows our story, so here is mine, for anyone who doesn't know...
By the way, our story is in Our Story, I forget what date.
Anyhow, my name is Shawna, and I have been married to my wonderful husband Lawrence for nearly 14 (wow, 14!) years! I have a very "interesting" stepson, Robbie, 15, who has lived with us since he was 1, two daughters, Janine,13 (tomorrow) and Jennifer, 10. As far as kids go, we have one more, Michael, who is 8 and has DS. By the way, Robbie has ADD and possibly FAE. In addition to us, we also have Lawrence's friend and business partner living with us. (It's just cheaper that way, the company can really only support one household so far!), and my brother Sheldon is also staying with us for the last five months or so while he's been working in this area. I nearly forgot - we also have the laziest, fattest cat around, Sylvester! He's so lazy that he lays down to eat! LOL
We live in the little hamlet of Bluffton, Alberta, Canada. All my kids currently go to the same small school. I love it - Janine's class has only 16 kids in it! Michael seems to be the most popular kid in the whole school. Everyone seems to know him and say "hi" to him. He has been TOTALLY accepted by the school population. It is really awesome.
The biggest problem we're having with Michael right now is keeping him at home. He has definitely discovered there is a big world out there! Four escapes in two weeks. I don't have to worry about the neighbors phoning the cops, 'cuz if we don't find him in about 20 minutes, I call them myself! So far, I don't think we needed to call out the troops. I did call them once last week, but about ten minutes after I called, he was found! (That time he was missing about an hour! Talk about starting to freak!)
Michael is going to school full-time, and will be going into grade 1 next year. He is starting to read and write, and is learning his letters and numbers.
I'm sorry,people, I'm going to have to go. It's midnight, I'm tired and I have to work in the morning. Today was a busy day, and tomorrow will be too. I will try and post within the next day! I do have my reams of notes, but not the time to sit and write my post! LOL
I just want to say to "Sick of cliques", at first, I didn't say too much, just whatever I personally could relate to, and I felt "out of the loop" too, but as I continued to post, people started to respond to what I had to say, and then I responded, and voila, relationships started to be born! I also found that I needed to start writing stuff down because I could not remember all the postings I wanted to respond to! I try and read carefully through the posts and respond to them, not every single one, but most of them! I'm sorry you feel left out and neglected. I've had questions that were not answered or posts that seemed to be missed too. Not lately, though. How can you miss these ten page epistles? LOL At any rate,please continue to post and I will endeavor to reply.
Now, I can't leave without SOMETHING for y'all!
***************************************************
SICK OF GAS PRICES?
Sick of gas prices lately? Ponder these:
Diet Snapple, 16 oz for $1.29 = $10.32 per gallon.
Lipton Ice Tea, 16 oz for $1.19 = $9.52 per gallon.
Gatorade, 20 oz for $1.59 = $10.17 per gallon.
Pint of milk, 16 oz for $1.59 = $12.72 per gallon.
Vick's NyQuil, 6 oz for $8.35 = $178.13 per gallon.
Pepto Bismol, 4 oz for $3.85 = $123.20 per gallon.
White Out, 7 oz for $1.39 = $25.42 per gallon.
Scope, 1.5 oz for $0.99 = $84.48 per gallon.
And this is the real kicker:
Evian water, 9 oz for $1.49 = $21.19 per gallon
So next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on Nyquil or Scope -- or spring water for that matter.
************************************************
Well, my bed is calling me "Shawna, Shawna, Shawnnnnnna..." I guess I'd better go see what it wants. Sorry I wasn't able to post all my responses.
And yes, I am STILL the undisputed Queen of the Posters! ROFLOL
Ciao for now.
Shawna
Judi/Erin: Apparently you have to pay to read the article once your "cookie" expires. I have the first three parts of the article copied onto E-mail. If anyone has the last 3 parts copied could they PLEASE send them to me?? I want to know what happened to Naia!!
