Meeting Notes

Today’s meeting began with 19 members in attendance, a guest (Angie Cuneaz) for one last time, and two speakers from Hurley Hospital’s Child Life Services Dept., Laura and Kathleen (sorry I didn’t get their last names). Since the Board approved Angie’s membership application last week, she was inducted as our newest member this morning. Welcome, Angie, and my apology for fining you immediately upon your induction for not yet having done anything for the club! Someone (who will remain unnamed) abruptly fined me for forgetting about the free tickets you gave to several club members for last Friday’s performance of “Anything Goes” at The Whiting. The tickets were much appreciated by those who attended the play – thanks again! And congratulations to Stephanie for becoming the club’s first “Queen”! Let’s see how fast we can get that crown from her, because I have a feeling it is going to cost us dearly in the meantime! 🙂

As usual, someone forgot that this was a breakfast meeting, but Dave managed to arrive just in time for the food to be served, so we wound up ending the meeting with 21 members and 2 speakers. Fines abounded, but came to a sudden end after a couple “lame” fines by J-Lo, both having something to do with prosthetic devices and getting a “leg up” on one of our prior members. It was only fitting that neither fine “had a leg to stand on” and failed miserably. Hey – I thought that was pretty good! Mic won the 50/50, so he will sell tickets next week to collect his $13 winnings unless he can talk Pete into it, since he insisted that he also had the winning ticket (go figure).

Kathleen, an intern with Hurley Child Life Services, was our primary speaker this a.m., with back-up from her supervisor, Laura. Kathleen is nearing the end of her 480 hour internship, and will hopefully soon become the newest Child Life Specialist at Hurley. She thanked our club for the coloring books and crayons that we help provide to all the children who pass through the pediatrics unit at Hurley, as well as for the “alligator wagon” we recently purchased for the children (thanks largely to Matt’s efforts). This is a special hand-built wagon the children love to ride in while receiving their chemo treatments. It has an attachment on the back that allows the IV pole to be attached to the wagon so they can enjoy a ride through the hallways during treatment. What a great idea!

Hurley’s Child Life Services staff of five specializes in providing “coping and comfort” to the entire family of children with cancer, but also assists in other areas of the hospital, mainly where children are involved. These include the burn unit and the emergency room. Hurley is one of only a few hospitals in MI with some of these specialized pediatric units, it has the only emergency room in mid-Michigan dedicated solely to children, and has one of only six doctors in the state that specialize in child abuse situations. Children and families come from all over MI to Hurley for some of the special services it offers. Along with its extremely dedicated pediatrics staff, it is a blessing to our community to have this type of facility available locally. Laura indicated that, aside from additional staff, their largest and most continual need is for toys for the playrooms. Although the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) no longer funds any administrative costs for this area of the hospital, it helps provide toys, teddy bears, and other items to help the children cope with their situation. All of the teddy bears (and some of the toys) end up going home with the children at the end of their treatment, so there is a continual need for replacements. This is an area where our club has helped in the past, along with our contributions to the CMN.
Our “Thanks” go to Kathleen and Laura for sharing their story with us this morning!

Reminders

  • Boys and Girls Club Vehicle City Challenge 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM March 14th at Boys and Girls Club on N. Averill Rd.
  • Big Brothers & Big Sisters Bowling 7:00 February 19th at Galaxy Lanes on Hill Rd. in Grand Blanc

In Optimism!

Walt Widder