Last October I applied for a special needs kid’s dream for Bethany.
I have to say though, that trying to get my special needs kid’s dream granted has been a long, drawn out, disappointing, and very frustrating process.
In January, Bethany’s dream team manager and another team member arrived to interview Bethany to see what kind of dream she might want.
It was obvious to them that Bethany wasn’t really capable of choosing a dream, so I suggested they purchase a few items to make a sensory room retreat for Bethany.
They thought that was a great idea.
They even told me that they would have Barney personally deliver the items to her!
They said they would be meeting with all the team members to vote on approving Bethany’s dream the very next Tuesday.
By March, I still hadn’t gotten any updates about my special needs kid’s dream.
So I emailed the team manager, who promptly emailed me back saying that Bethany’s dream had been approved and they were ordering the equipment!
However, by May, once again, I had no word on the status of Beth’s dream.
I emailed her team manager again, and waited two weeks for a response that I never got.
I was getting slightly frustrated by this point and called the Chapter’s main phone number.
I was told that Bethany’s team manager was dealing with a family member’s health crisis and that she had stepped down as manager of my special needs kid’s dream.
I was also told that Bethany’s dream team would meeting the following Tuesday to decide how to handle the situation.
Again, I waited about 2 weeks and no one ever called me to let me know what had been decided.
Again, I called the main chapter and asked what had happened at the meeting.
The person who answered the phone hadn’t gone to the meeting, but assured me that she’d find out what was going on and get back to me.
To her credit, she did at least did get back to me to let me know that Bethany’s dream had been turned over to a new manager who would now be working on my special needs kid’s dream and that this new manager would keep me apprised of its progress.
Only several weeks went by with no updates from her and I had not been told her name or email address!
So, once again, I phoned the main chapter and was told by the same person who I had spoken to the last time, that there had been a meeting about Bethany’s dream but she had not attended.
I expressed my frustration to the point of voicing my fear that they were not even a legitimate organization!!
She assured me that they were legitimate and that they really were working on Bethany’s dream.
She explained to me that Bethany’s original team manager’s mother had passed away during this last period of non-communication, but she was now ready to take on the task of being Bethany’s dream team manager again.
Unfortunately, several more weeks went by without a word from her either!
I was beginning to believe that I was being lied to and being given the run around!
I emailed Bethany’s new-old dream team manager expressing my concerns, frustration, and disappointment on June 30th, not really expecting a reply.
I had actually given up all hope of Bethany ever really receiving her dream.
So, imagine my surprise when on July 16th, Bethany’s dream manager called and asked if they could deliver her dream the very next morning!
Of course I replied with a very relieved and very excited, YES!!
Obviously, such short notice left me with no time to plan a party for Bethany and her Barney loving friends, but I was okay with that because Bethany didn’t really know what was going on, so she wasn’t expecting a party, anyway.
And the next morning, just as promised, my special needs kid’s dream was dropped off in boxes and her team members were on their way back to where ever it was they had come from!
No party.
No fanfare.
No Barney.
I was quite a bit disappointed that Barney did not show up.
But again, Bethany had not been expecting Barney so she was not disappointed by his absence.
In fact, the whole time the boxes filled with her dreams were being carried into the house, Bethany did nothing but lie on the couch with a blanket over her head!
I know the problems in getting Bethany’s dream fulfilled were no one’s fault really.
Illnesses and deaths happen and there is nothing we can do about that.
But even so, I feel that the prompt and promised fulfillment of Bethany’s dream was not handled properly or very professionally.
If Bethany had been aware that she was actually waiting for a dream, she would have been heartbroken and disappointed at having to wait seven long months for it.
She would have been even more heartbroken and devastatingly disappointed if she had actually been aware that she was waiting seven long months for Barney to deliver her dream and then he did not show up.
What if she had been terminally ill?
Her condition could have deteriorated to the point of not even being able to enjoy her dream or she might have even passed away before she ever got it!!
But Bethany’s dream has finally been delivered and we are honestly very grateful for her sensory items!
Actually, when I stop to think about it, maybe it was really a good thing there was no party, no fanfare and no Barney because she might have just lay on the couch with a blanket over her head the whole time and appeared to have been very rude and ungrateful for her dream.
So I guess, in the end, it all really did work out for the good.
My special needs kid’s dream has been delivered and now she has an awesome sensory room to retreat to when life gets overwhelming!
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The post Chronicles of a Special Needs Kid’s Dream Part 1 appeared first on Faith, Hope, and Love.