What is Easter Seals?

Olivia pointed out when she looked at the blog on Wednesday I needed to explain what Easter Seals was. (See post "My Earliest Memory") so that's how I decided what my next topic would be.

Easter Seals is a facility that helps children with disabilities (they apparently kick you out after you turn about 21 or so) I went to Easter Seals from the time I was 18 months old to about the time I was 18 or 19 and afterwards I only went there for equipment fittings, my walker fitting in 2012 being my last one.

I had two main therapists over the course of my life. The first of these was an occupational therapist named Karen. I HATED occupational therapy because I felt what they were doing wasn't helping, and after I was in elementary school for a while I stopped this therapy altogether. The other therapy I had was physical therapy, the therapist I had was named Gretchen. She was my therapist for that entire time from the time I was about to to the time I was 18, when I graduated high school. Not a lot of people can say they've known one person that long, is weird sometimes because Gretchen remembers things about me I don't even remember because she's pretty much known my entire life.

When I was about 12 or 13 Easter Seals moved and was completely remodeled (new building and everything). The new building not only expanded the therapy wings but had an exercise room, a warm water pool and a daycare facility.

I have a lot of stories to tell about my therapy sessions there, both in the old and new building, like the time I would always sing for the therapists when I was done exercising, or the time I ended up writing a song and being on the radio. When I was 8 I was an Easter Seals ambassador and I went to all these functions one of which I sang a song in front of 1000 people (I have never done that since). Another  incident I remember was when there was a tornado (sometime after the new building had been constructed) and the power went out, everybody that was having therapy was stranded in the hallways in the dark until the power came back on.

Easter Seals was a big part of my life, and gave me the tools I needed to be a successful disabled adult, even though I didn't apply many of them until many years later.

-Tori