April 15 , 2021 The Beacon • 15
Mother is grateful for Help Me Grow home visits
By Jen Jones
“ It ’ s a game-changer to have so many services and resources locally ,” Melissa McCoy said about Help Me Grow .
Her son , Sabastian , suffered severe brain damage when he was just 2 months old , due to shaken baby syndrome . The person who allegedly abused him is no longer in his life . He spent 14 days in Nationwide Children ’ s Hospital with seizures and brain bleeds . Before the incident he was a healthy baby who was hitting all of his milestones on time . Afterward , he had to relearn everything — even how to eat .
“ We don ’ t know what all he lost since he was so little when it happened ,” McCoy said . “ When we left the hospital , he couldn ’ t roll over or hold his head up . The hospital told me about Help Me Grow because we knew he was going to need lots of interventions to help him get back what he lost and learn new skills . Within two weeks of his discharge , when he was 3 months old , we had our
Jen Jones
Nineteen-month-old Sabastian giggles and reaches for his sister , Mary Jane , in the family home . Sabastian was allegedly abused and left with brain damage . He receives therapy from Help Me Grow .
evaluation with Help Me Grow .”
Sabastian just recently started speech therapy , virtually . “ The therapist told me to hold a balloon by my face and make squeaky noises with it when I said his name . I couldn ’ t believe something so simple would be so effective ,” McCoy said .
Every part of Sabastian ’ s brain was affected ,
and the family is still finding areas where he needs help .
“ I have to go to Columbus six times a month for therapies that can ’ t be done locally . I ’ m so grateful that we have the services here , or I would be making more trips every month . He ’ s getting speech , physical therapy , and we are going to start occupational therapy soon .”
Sabastian is about at a 9-month-old level . “ He ’ s not walking or talking . He can sit for a while if I sit him up , but he can ’ t sit up by himself yet . We are going to start behavior therapy too . He gets so frustrated and can ’ t tell me what ’ s wrong or what he needs . Hopefully , with all of the other therapies helping him so much , we won ’ t need behavior therapy very much ,” McCoy said .
McCoy said her son has made huge strides this year . “ He refused to use his right arm , and now he ’ s throwing toys and holding his own bottle . He ’ s making noises now and loves to tell us ‘ stories ’ and giggle . It took so much effort to get here , but if we hadn ’ t done everything we have , he would just be laying on his back staring at the ceiling . I can ’ t imagine not doing all of this for him ,” she said .
“ Just talking to Mindy ( Help Me Grow home visitor ) has helped me so much . Just to have someone to talk to , to bounce ideas off of , it helps so
much to not feel alone ,” McCoy said .
Mindy Edie of Help Me Grow said , “ We have several goals when we work with our families . We use evidence-based home-visiting models to improve maternal and child health , prevent child abuse or neglect , encourage positive parenting , and promote child development to help them get ready for school .”
Edie said many of these goals are accomplished through play . “ We use the ‘ Growing Great Kids ’ materials to do activities with the families . I can text activities or give handouts for things parents can do at
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ANSWERS home with their children . Our ultimate goal is to see happy , successful families ,” she said .
Edie also said they want to be a listening ear for the family , especially in the last year as everyone dealt with COVID and loneliness .
“ We also work on ways for mom and child to bond ,” Edie said .
Anyone who would like more information about Help Me Grow home visits can call 740-622-1552 .
“ He ’ s a happy kid for all he ’ s had to endure , and he ’ s learning so many things ,” McCoy said , “ thanks to all of the help from Help Me Grow .”
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