2009 spokesfamily talks about positive impact of DSC

PHILO – Most days, Stephanie Oates is fine.

She's blessed with a beautiful, bright-eyed 3-year-old son who is doted on by his older sister and (usually) his older brother.

But there are times ... well, it's hard. When she sees children Logan's age or younger doing things he can't do, for instance – simple things like running, coloring, playing on a slide.

"It's just the way it is," Oates said this week, adding, "He's a happy, happy little guy."

A few weeks after he was born, Logan Oates began having seizures, launching a series of medical problems that left him with severe delays. He can't hold his head up, and while he laughs and chatters happily all day, he can't communicate with words.

Through Developmental Services Center, however, Logan received physical and speech therapy that helped him progress. Therapists were strong advocates for Logan, petitioning the state's Early Intervention program for a special bed, wheelchair and other equipment to help him with everyday skills.

Most of all, they helped the family cope. "DSC came into our lives when we had nowhere to turn for understanding and guidance, and provided that vital need for all parents to feel they are doing everything possible for their children," Stephanie and Chris Oates wrote on behalf of the agency.

They are the spokesfamily for this year's Tree of Hope campaign, DSC's biggest fundraiser. The private support raised through Tree of Hope – this year's goal is $100,000 – comes at a crucial time for the agency, which provides services for more than 1,400 children and adults with developmental disabilities each year.

A $1.58 million state funding cut forced DSC to cut 14 full-time and nine part-time staff members in July, affecting services for 300 to 350 clients and their families. The agency has since learned it will receive about half of that grant – $790,000 – to get it through Dec. 31, but finances for the rest of the year remain uncertain. State funding now makes up about a third of DSC's $12 million budget.

"This is the most important Tree of Hope campaign in its 16-year history," said Patty Walters, executive vice president of consumer services. "We're becoming more self-reliant. We aren't in a position to depend on the state."

DSC is not taking on any new clients until it has a better feel for what kind of long-term services it can provide, and waiting lists continue to grow.

"Right now our focus is on maintaining our current capacity," Walters said.

Stephanie Oates feels the shortage personally. While Logan has moved on to school-based services through Unit 7, the family is on a waiting list for DSC's respite care program, which was cut and then temporarily restored this fall.

Caring for Logan is a 24-hour operation. He has a condition that causes weakness in his windpipe and larynx, which doctors hope he will outgrow, but he's hooked up to a breathing monitor at night. He has trouble swallowing, so he's fed through a tube.

The first two years of his life were spent in and out of hospitals. The medicine he took to stop the seizures weakened his immune system, and he contracted pneumonia.

Doctors believe Logan has a chromosomal abnormality, but tests weren't conclusive, Stephanie Oates said. She still tears up talking about those early days, when she and Chris didn't really understand what was going on.

"You don't want to believe what the doctors are telling you. It's just hard to accept it," she said.

It was also hard on Sydney, now 8, and Dylan, 6. Stephanie and Chris Oates took turns staying with Logan during his initial five-week stay at Peoria's St. Francis Medical Center, and the two older kids often had to ride along on the three-hour round trip.

These days, Stephanie and Chris Oates juggle their work schedules so one of them is always home when Logan's not at school. She works three 12-hour shifts as a nurse at Carle Foundation Hospital, and he works part-time for Dillman Brothers construction.

The good news: Logan hasn't been hospitalized for over a year.

His parents said they wouldn't have made it this far without DSC. The therapists were wonderful advocates for Logan, who "got so excited" when they came to the house, Stephanie Oates said.

"They boost you up. They tell you what you're doing right. They let you know that you're doing a good job."

These days, Logan spends a half-day at school, then enjoys being around his family. Sydney reads to him and plays with him, while Dylan likes to make him laugh.

"He's just such a people person," his mom said.

 

2009 campaign

What: Developmental Services Center's largest fundraiser supports services for more than 1,400 children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Goal: $100,000

When: Campaign runs through Jan. 30. Kickoff is at 8 a.m. today at Sullivan-Parkhill Automotive Inc., 440 W. Anthony Drive, C.

How: Every $50 donated lights a bulb on Tree of Hope at corner of Prospect Avenue and Marketview Drive, C.

Corporate partners: Herff Jones (Cap & Gown Division), Kraft Foods, Sullivan-Parkhill Automotive Inc.

To make a contribution, or for more information, visit www.dsc-illinois.org or call 356-9176.

 

 

 

Also on this date

• Burger King on Prospect reopens after fire
• Cause unknown for fire that hit Rantoul home
• Urbana critics wary of proposed Carle merger
• Unit 4 holding forum on high school redistricting
• Consent decree over for Champaign schools
• Four Danville budget plans look far ahead
• Speaker offers advice to youths dealing with loss
• A Woman's Place shelter in dire financial straits
• Frerichs giving energy bill a push in committee
• Obituaries

» More