EI

There are some people that come into your life, and you know that God specifically orchestrated it.  Our Early Interventionist (EI), Sarah, is one of those people.

Once we received Ellie's diagnosis of PWS, we were immediately referred to apply for BabyNet (South Carolina's interagency early intervention system for infants and toddlers under three years of age with developmental delays, or who have conditions associated with developmental delays).  Ellie immediately qualified due to her diagnosis, and we started the process of setting up our EI services.

This is where God had been working to place Sarah in our life before we even began applying for BabyNet.  He is amazing like that...

While in the NICU, we had amazing nurses and became very, very close to many of them.  One day I had taken Ellie for her follow-up eye appointment and ran into one of our dear nurses, who was doing an internship there.

On our way out the door, we were able to talk and catch up.  I told her about our diagnosis and she said these words..."I have an amazing friend who is an Early Interventionist with Bright Start.  Ask for Sarah."  I wrote her name down, and knew I would request her when our representative from BabyNet called.  God used that conversation to bless us with such a special person to our family.  I simply can't imagine this journey without Sarah.  She has been such and advocate for Ellie, and I consider her one of my very best friends.  As our EI she has helped us organize all of Ellie's therapy and navigate all of the services for children with special needs in South Carolina.  She communicates with our therapists and organizes team meetings to make sure Ellie is reaching her best potential.  Sarah comes to our house each week to work with Ellie, she checks on us anytime we have doctors appointments, puts goals and plans in place for Ellie to continue progressing, and puts up with me (I can be neurotic most of the time, when it comes to my baby girl).  She raises PWS awareness any chance she gets, and was instrumental in helping me with our One Small Step events.  She truly goes above and beyond, and is amazing at her job.

I look back at our journey with EI, and get emotional because I am so thankful for this great service for our daughter.  Early Intervention is crucial and imperative for our daughter, and other individuals with PWS.  It helps them learn key skills to catch up with their peers, and gives them the best possible outcome to reach their best potential.  Ellie has continued to make progress, and the assistance and education we received early on was so critical to her success.  I thank God for our EI services and Sarah...she is truly a compassionate, giving, amazing woman that loves children.  Ellie loves her "Ra-Ra" and so do we!