A Waiting List Journey
LIFE WITH LINCOLN
Lincoln’s life started a little different than most. Lincoln was born completely lifeless after a fetal maternal
hemorrhage. After lots of testing, she was diagnosed with a myriad of conditions secondary to a brain
injury including cerebral palsy and epilepsy. When she was 14 days old, doctors announced she would live
in a relatively vegetative state, never being able to walk, talk, feed herself, have any sort of independence,
or live a “normal” life.
“It hurt so badly to hear that our brand new little girl was deemed as a failure to thrive before she even
had a chance,” says her mother Lauren. “Hearing the doctors’ opinions made me mourn her life when her
life had only just begun.”
At 3 months old, Lincoln was placed on the waiting list at the Little Light House, and the family was then
invited to participate in the pilot class of the Early Intervention program, part of the Family Learning
Center. “I feel so incredibly blessed to have been chosen from the waiting list of hundreds of children,
and I only wish that every single child on the waiting list had the same opportunity,” says Lauren. In the
Early Intervention program, Lincoln is learning to socialize in class and to use new signs to communicate.
Lauren has also had the opportunity to make special connections with other moms on similar journeys.
In the two years since putting Lincoln on the waiting list, Lauren said she thinks every day about the time
when Lincoln will be fully enrolled and she’ll be able to drop her off and watch her grow and thrive at LLH
as her newest journey begins. Although Lincoln is number 122 on the waiting list, the Early Intervention
program has provided Lauren and Lincoln with a glimpse into everyday life at Little Light House and
cemented the fact that LLH is the best place for a child with special needs.
“Lincoln is everything that doctors said she wouldn’t be,” says Lauren. “She
talks in the sweetest voice you’ve ever heard; she’s working so hard on being
able to walk; she feeds herself, and we work every day on steps towards
independence. We know that her time at Little Light House will have a huge
impact on her abilities for the rest of her life.”
To the donors, Lauren says a huge thank you! “I think I speak for all
families impacted by LLH when I say that we could never say thank
you enough or do anything to repay the community for continuing to
support the education of our special babies. You truly make all the
difference in an early journey that will last for the rest of our lives.”
10 | JOURNEY