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St. Ann Center’s quarterly newsletter, Season’s of Life

Fall Issue #49 Newsletter Cover Story

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In this day of Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, there’s a more basic kind of communication going on at St. Ann Center. Stein Campus volunteer Maggie Cary and adult day care client Dragana Tomac have developed a language all their own.

“I’ve come to understand her moods and what she’s trying to say from her expressions and sounds she makes,” Maggie explained how a smile, a coo or a knitted brow tell her if Dragana is happy, anxious or sad. “After 11 years together, we understand each other.”

Dragana was born with cerebral palsy, blindness, seizure disorder and cognitive disabilities. At 37, she’s developmentally 18 months old. According to her mother, Ruth, “We toured several places looking for help with Dragana’s care. St. Ann Center is so beautiful and welcoming, we were certain she would do well here.

”Maggie got to know Dragana when she began spoon-feeding her at lunchtime. Soon, they were inseparable. “We go all over the building—inside and out,” Maggie said of how she takes Dragana, in her wheelchair, around the building as she runs errands. “It’s stimulating for her and good exercise for me.” Dragana has also made fast friends with other St. Ann Center clients. “She lights up when she hears her buddy Erica’s voice,” Maggie added.

Quiet as Dragona is, she loves being the center of attention, mom Ruth said. “She feels pampered when she gets her baths at St. Ann Center. And she thrives on the one-to-one communication she has with Maggie.” According to Maggie, the pleasure is hers. “Dragana brings out the best in everyone,” she said. “It’s pure love.”

Because of you, Dragana spends her days with people who value and respect her.

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Spring Issue #47 Newsletter Cover Story

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If you ask Gale Smith to describe her favorite type of music, she’ll tell you, “It’s the kind you just can’t sit still to.” Whenever there’s entertainment at St. Ann Center’s Bucyrus Campus, she’s usually the first one on the dance floor.

A client in the new dementia care wing, Gale grew up immersed in music. “I learned to play the violin when I was young,” she said. “As a teenager, I was part of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra.” Nowadays, the friendly 63-year-old still treasures her polished wood violin. When she glides the bow across its strings, she beams.

Life hasn’t been easy for Gale. Challenged by health and cognitive issues, she enrolled in St. Ann Center’s adult day care program three years ago. Her sister Teresa, who works for the Milwaukee County Department on Aging, thinks it’s a perfect fit. “I appreciate the umbrella of services,” she said, citing the convenience of having a medical and dental clinic, beauty salon, warm-water pool and massage therapy under one roof.

“We both love the African-inspired décor,” Teresa added. “Gale is very culturally aware—and heritage is important to her.”A fan of African dance, Gale is a former member of Milwaukee’s Kho-Thi Dance Company. The rhythms and steps are still ingrained in her body. “Whenever African drummers perform here,” she said with a smile. “I have to get up and dance.”

Gale is quick to share her love for all things musical with others. Her fellow clients enjoy her impromptu violin concerts. And the childcare kids love to mirror her West African dance moves.“Those little ones are so agile, they pick it right up,” she said. Teresa is happy that her artistic sister has a place where she can socialize, make friends and stimulate her mind instead of staying home and watching TV.

As Gale puts it, “This place restores my soul.”

Your support helps Gale hold onto the things that bring her joy.
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Special Issue 2020 Newsletter Cover Story

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Kayla Beats the Odds

If you want to know where the action is at St. Ann Center’s Young Adult Unit, just look for Kayla Prink. The 4-foot-tall, 60-pound bundle of energy has a passion for dancing that has earned her the nickname Twinkle Toes around the Bucyrus Campus, where she’s a client.

Kayla, 26, was the focus of life-or-death attention on the day she was born, three months early, in the middle of respiratory andcongestive heart failure. “The doctors didn’tknow if she would make it through the night,” her mom, Renee, recalled, describing how she and husband Jim kept a vigil in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. A week later, a geneticist determined Kayla was among the one in 10,000 infants born with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS), a rare genetic disorder that can lead to a variety of physical, cognitive and medical abnormalities.
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October-December 2019 Newsletter Cover Story

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Remember moving out on your own for the first time?

Your support gives St. Ann Center clients that same exciting feeling of independence. Just ask Sarah Lapre.

“Some days, I hardly think about having cerebral palsy,” said the self-assured 33-year-old. Born with CP, she’s used a wheelchair for most of her life.

“I just tell myself I’m not letting anything that’s going on with my body get me down. I won’t let anything beat me.”

That hasn’t always been easy. For a time, before coming to St. Ann Center, Sarah did piecework in a vocational training program. The stress was physically taxing. “Around that time, my sister brought my niece and nephew to St. Ann Center for swimming lessons,” she said. “She took one step in the door and called to tell me, ‘You have to come here!’”

In the three years that she’s been a client at the Stein Campus, Sarah has participated in the center’s swimming, ceramics, jewelry-making and art programs and used massage services, as well. But one of the things she values most about her time at St. Ann Center is the confidence it’s given her.

“Here, people let me do what I need to do, handle what I can handle, and trust that if I need help, I’ll ask,” she said. “That freedom has shown me how to be more independent.” Sarah demonstrated just how capable she is a year ago, when she moved into her own apartment. “That was a huge step for me and my family,” she added.

The godmother of her young niece and nephew, Sarah enjoys the intergenerational environment at St. Ann Center. “When the kids ask about my chair, I just explain that, for me, the wheelchair is like my legs,” Sarah said. “There’s no need to be shy around me.”

Not one to shy away from anything, Sarah recently went zip-lining while on vacation and loved it. “I’ll try anything once,” she said, revealing her next extreme sport dream, “I really want to try bungee jumping.”

 

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July-September 2019 Newsletter Cover Story

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Because of you, our generous donors, 60 adults are enjoying the new Dementia Care Wing at our Bucyrus Campus. You are changing lives in amazing ways!

In a sunny corner of the Dementia Care Wing, four areas called “life skills stations,” are set up with props to look like settings people might have spent time during their younger days. The environment encourages them to reminisce about life experiences from their past and stay engaged mentally and physically.

The stations–an old-fashioned kitchen, sewing nook, workbench and nursery–are the creation of St. Ann Center supporters Leigh Peterson and Patt Krejci. “I spent days on the Internet, searching websites, eBay and Craigslist for antiques,” said Patt, an interior designer. “We were looking for things from our parents’ era. Leigh and I love a challenge.”

Using Leigh’s truck as a moving van, the friends scoured antique stores, estate sales and resale shops for everything from vintage metal kitchen furniture to a century-old wooden baby crib. The stations were funded by the Peterson Family Foundation. “Putting the stations together was so much fun,” Leigh said. “But the best part was watching how people interact with them.”

One day, when the women were working on the stations, the staff brought a few clients to the area. “A lady named Jane picked up a baby doll in the nursery and cradled it,” Patt remembered. “I asked her if she’d like to take it for a ride in the buggy, and she did. You could tell she was connecting to special memories.” Both Leigh and Patt considered the project a labor of love. Leigh’s aunt had dementia and was a client at St. Ann Center’s Stein Campus, and Patt’s mother died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease.

When the life skills stations were finished, Leigh and Patt were just beginning. They went on to decorate all nine bedrooms in the Bucyrus Campus’ new overnight respite. “It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to help in this way,” Patt said. “This facility and what’s happening here takes my breath away.”

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