Terri McDearman, M.S.C., CCC-SLP Clinical Supervisor
Wolfson Children's Hospital at Baptist Health
807 Nira Street, 3rd Floor, Jacksonville, Florida 32207

I want to share with you a story about a very sweet, smart little girl named Helen (right) and a special gift she gave to her speech therapist, Carol Erskine. Helen came into the clinic at age 2 1/2 with a severe language delay. In addition, she had great difficulty coordinating her mouth muscles. Her mouth was always open with her tongue hanging out! She could only say a few words and communicated with gesturing, grunting, and whining. Very frustrated with her inability to communicate her needs, she often fell into tantrums.

She began intensive speech therapy at our clinic with Carol Erskine (below), a very experienced speech-language pathologist. When Helen turned three, Carol was seeing progress, but then, Helen's health insurance company denied coverage for her therapy. The Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida came to the rescue and assisted the family with funding. Therapy continued. Carol and Helen's parents worked as a team, and Helen began to blossom. Over the next year, Helen's speech became intelligible for the first time. Helen's frustrations diminished, and she became a happy, social, talkative child. Her language skills are now above those of her peers!

In parting, Helen's family presented Carol with a card and two gifts wrapped with glittery, blue stars. The packages were numbered, and the card read, "Please open package number one and read below." When Carol opened the package, there was a dull, small rock from the yard. The card read, "This represents Helen as we gave her to you last September." Carol opened package number two as directed. Inside was a sparkling, silver-encased crystal pendant. The card read, "This is the Helen you gave back to us. Words cannot express the depth of our gratitude for all your hard, loving work. You are truly a miracle worker and an angel. A thank you is not enough, but it's all I have. May God bless you." It was signed by Helen's mother. This is a tribute not only to the talents of this therapist but also to Masons who support the Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida for their hard work and dedication.