Meet Charlotte, a valued child of our EOCF programs whose family helped her grow by utilizing EOCF’s preschool programs and family support services.
Failure to Thrive
“Charlotte (“Lottie”) was born with a congenital heart disease called Complete AV Canal. Usually, this would have been detected in utero, but Lottie’s wasn’t found until her 24-month well-child check up with her pediatrician. Because of this late diagnosis, we didn’t know why Lottie seemed to be struggling so much to hit her milestones. Until she had surgery, Lottie’s heart had to work double time just to keep her blood circulating. Her heart would intake blood, but instead of pumping again and sending it back into the rest of her body, the blood would pass through holes between the chambers of her heart; passing through one heart chamber into the next instead of being pumped to her limbs, her vital organs, and her brain. This caused several developmental delays.
Here’s the deal: Lottie did everything late. She was born late, she talked late, she walked late. She was the oldest child at the lactation consultant because she kept falling asleep while eating. But this became more of an issue when we noticed she couldn’t even support her own bodyweight on her feet at 10-months old. We didn’t know it yet, but literally everything Lottie did exhausted her, even growing. And because of this exhaustion, Lottie was not actually growing at all. With appointments made and specialists called, weight-in after weigh-in, Lottie regressed on the ‘normal’ growth chart until she wasn’t even on a curve.
Then, Lottie was given the dreaded label “failure to thrive.”
In August of 2018, at the age of 2 years old, Lottie went to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital for corrective heart surgery after receiving the diagnosis of her AV canal and deteriorating health. Her surgery was performed by chief of pediatric and congenital cardiac surgery at OHSU, Dr. Irving Shen. Dr. Shen deemed the surgery a success, calling it “completely corrective” providing Lottie the ability to have her heart working at normal capacity. With a fully functioning heart, Lottie began making up for her growth deficit. She had several series of consecutive growth spurts and climbed back up the growth chart at an exponential rate!
Growing Up in Difficult Times
As she continued to grow, we reflected on the fact that there were two vital years of development now behind us. To make up for that lost time, Lottie would need extra help with her next steps: schooling.
We are over income for the EOCF preschool program and that is why we are incredibly thankful that Educational Opportunities for Children & Families (EOCF) looks at the whole picture, not just a number. Living in a rural area, we have no other viable option for Lottie to attend preschool, which she desperately needs.
EOCF is helping Lottie to reach social and academic goals in which she started behind her peers. Lottie has gone from totally missing her milestones, to being within average range. I sincerely believe this is because of the nurture, care, and special attention that she has received from the EOCF teaching staff. She attended in person for the 2019-2020 school year, but because of her heart, we felt compelled to keep her home during the COVID-19 pandemic. And, once again, EOCF stepped up to meet our needs. Instead of creating a one-size-fits-all program, they have been able to meet us where we are with remote learning and home-learning packets tailored to Lottie’s interests and areas of needed growth. The ability of her teacher to form a trusting relationship with my child during remote learning has astonished me – Lottie loves her teacher, Ms. Courtney.
When Lottie started remote learning, she was just excited to be allowed to touch an iPad. After the novelty wore off, she spent many Zoom meetings hiding under the table. Ms. Courtney has been patient, caring, and understanding of Lottie’s reaction and has been consistent with attempting to engage her. A Zoom meeting is like broccoli, you just keep putting in on the plate, and one day they take a bite…and Lottie has absolutely taken the bite! She is now engaged with her class during Zoom time, she answers questions about her feelings, she shares her thoughts, and she’s an active participant in class learning.
Lottie’s home learning packets are made just for her, so they include items she is interested in. Her teacher contacts me several times a week to check on Lottie’s progress and ask about her current interests. We send pictures and videos of Lottie using her home learning materials to Ms. Courtney – Lottie even initiates some of the correspondence! She will say, “Look at this ‘e’ that I wrote! Let’s send a picture to Ms. Courtney!”
From the moment I first contacted EOCF I have been surrounded by people who want to help.
I will remember the kindness of reception, the thoughtfulness and attention of intake, and the final decision of the Enrollment Director to enroll Lottie. The teachers Lottie has had over the years have helped her to blossom both emotionally and scholastically. The people at EOCF have literally changed our lives!
To ‘Expect The Unexpected’ is a common phrase…but we truly live like this now that Lottie is in our lives. From heart surgery to a world-wide pandemic, Lottie’s life has been anything but ordinary. We are immeasurably grateful for the flexibility of EOCF. Not only did they take us in to their fold, but they continue to care for our child and our family in ways that are unexpected and incredibly appreciated! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Crystal, Program Parent (Lottie’s Mom), 2021