Two Kids to Love: Jewelyn and Alphonse

Jewelyn

It was one of those links that I came across while I was reading through some of the messages in the Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines’ facebook group. It was one of those stories that pushed you to action because it just gripped your heart so tightly. Clicking those links led me to Jewelyn, an 11-year old with cerebral palsy, her father Mang Orland, her sisters and the kindness of teacher Kaye.

Here is Jewelyn’s story and how teacher Kaye met her:

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine saw a man carrying a little girl and a bouquet of flowers. She found out that Mang Orlando was selling handmade FLOWER PENS for his daughter Jewelyn’s meds and therapy.

Jewelyn, from Bulacan, was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. She was born ‘normal’ but was hit by meningitis at 7 months old. She was in coma for a while, in and out of hospitals, and, due to UNDER and MIStreatment, continued to worsen thus causing severe brain damage that has impaired overall functions. She has seizure attacks daily. Only her father and 3 sisters take turns in taking care of her. I offered them free therapy and saw them for the first time today. I have been in special education for 10 years but I found myself still in shock when I saw her. She is 11 years old, sized like a toddler, functions like a newborn. She cannot even turn her body to the side. She is fed via NGT (nasogastric tube). Her sisters work tirelessly making flower pens for their father to sell.

Her case is not so rare but this will be my 1st time to handle a child who can barely function. Hopeless? NO. I believe God planned all of this and was brought to us because Dayshaun means God’s gift of hope… and we shall give her hope. And as we always say in Special Olympics, “Let me win. But if I cannot win, LET ME BE BRAVE in the attempt.”

Jewelyn is a special jewel of God. Be a part of her life. Extend a hand.

You can (1) order flower pens, (2) offer free therapy- specifically PT , (3) give me further advice on therapeutic interventions, (4) give financial support for her medications, (5) offer her father a job.

Flowerpens are 3 for 100. PM me your orders so i can relay to them. If you want them delivered via courier, I can find out the cost from LBC.

Do you believe in miracles? I do. It happens everyday. Lets do this, Jewelyn!

When I read about Jewelyn I ordered pens right away. I wanted to help Jewelyn, Mang Orlando, who is a single dad and Kaye too. Kaye’s act of kindness has to be multiplied and I was only too happy to do my share. I ordered pens and gave them to friends who have been so wonderful to my family this past year.

Last November 2012 Jewelyn was fitted for a special wheelchair which will be given to her soon. If you want to learn more about Jewelyn and how to order her pen flowers like her page HERE.

Alphonse

I learned about Alphonse via Chris who runs the popular blog MommyJourney. She told me about Mye, a friend of hers who’s a talented digital scrapbook artist and who runs her own web design company over at MyeDeLeon.com.

Mye gave birth to Alphonse on Dec. 27, 2012. It wasn’t what she expected.

“December 27th, 2012 @ 5:33 PM, Alphonse is out. But I can barely hear him cry. He cried once, it stopped, he cried again and he stopped. I got worried. I can hear the doctors and nurses saying he’s having a lot of secretions and I keep asking myself why he is not crying but it went away the moment i saw him trying to latch. It was a very warm experience. My baby boy is finally with us.”

The next day, a Pedia Cardiologist went to Mye and told her that her dear boy has Tetralogy of Fallot. The condition is curable by surgery and is completely survivable. However, the surgery is expensive and would cost around Php 500,000. Mye and her family are raising funds to get Alphonse his lifesaving surgery. Mye is a digital scrapbook and blog designer so you could order some of her stuff over at her website. If you want to  help via paypal her email address is admin@myedeleon.com

You can read more about Alphonse over at Mye’s blog ()

Of course both Jewelyn and Alphonse also need our prayers. Please do share Jewelyn’s and Alphonse’s websites so that they could reach more kind hearts. Please say a prayer for their families that they all remain strong and steadfast in their journey. What they’re trudging on is a hard road to travel but the burden eases a bit when you have angels along for the ride.

Rock on Jewelyn and Alphonse!