McKenna

J.J. Dunn and Sue Cahlander enrolled their daughter, McKenna in C.O.P. in 2005 after searching for a center where the focus would be on learning and development. McKenna had suffered significant trauma at birth resulting in significant developmental delays.

Sue feels strongly about the programming at C.O.P. “We are so thankful for C.O.P. and the wonderful school it is! When McKenna first came to C.O.P., walking was not her primary means of getting around, eating was a big issue and she had significant fine and gross motor skill delays — she required a lot of extra help – C.O.P. gladly opened their doors.

“The dedicated staff at C.O.P. is truly outstanding! As a parent, we all want our child to be in an environment where they are safe, loved, encouraged and accepted as the unique little person they are, C.O.P. has been that place for us. In the past 2 years, McKenna has made such great progress and C.O.P. has been an instrumental part of McKenna’s growth. We love C.O.P.!”

Morighann

Morighann suffers from developmental delays. When her mother became pregnant with Morighann, she was in remission with Leukemia. She had a weak immune system and contracted Herpes during pregnancy which was passed on to Morighann in utero.

Five weeks before she was due, Morighann stopped moving because she had become very ill with the Herpes virus. She was delivered immediately and rushed to the newborn ICU unit at Children's Hospital. She had big blisters all over the right side of her body and the virus also caused damage in very specific areas of her brain causing Cerebral Palsy. Not long after, she was also diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis.

Judy, Morighann's grandma who is also a speach therapist, enrolled Morighann at C.O.P. when she was 4½ years old and began building a wonderful relationship with the staff.  In the beginning, Morighann would slowly maneuver her walker down the hallways at C.O.P. which caused many traffic jams.  Eventually she was able to walk with the use of only her leg braces.

Judy feels that "most providers would have given up on us with all of Morighann's additional medical issues.  The C.O.P. staff, however, met with me and brainstormed ways to meet Morighann's needs and keep her in the classroom."

Because C.O.P. exists, Judy was able to go to work each day without worrying and because Morighann has only Judy, the C.O.P. staff and students became like family to them both.