Time to get away
Lutheran program supports parents of children with exceptional needs
By Rachel Pritchett
Melissa Shenefelt plays a board game with her sons Vinny (center) and Owen, both of whom have special needs. Lutheran Community Services Northwest helps provide respite care while Shene- felt’s husband is deployed with the Navy.
N
ot a blade of grass is out of place in this neat, peaceful neigh- borhood at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Washington. Te quiet ends inside Melissa Shenefelt’s home. Sons
Vinny, 8, and Owen, 6, are home from school with plenty of pent-up energy. Te two family dogs are barking their lungs out. Vinny hauls out video games and Owen squeals in glee as he slides and bumps down the stairs on his bare tummy.
“He’s my red-headed trouble-
maker, is what he is,” Shenefelt said of Owen. Te scene could be that of any
family here in the Pacific Northwest, where there are as many Navy bases as there are major shopping malls. But Shenefelt has it tougher. For months on end, her husband Sean is not at her side to help. He’s a sailor on the aircraſt carrier USS John C.
Stennis and at sea most of the time. What’s more, Vinny has autism, an attention-deficit disorder and other conditions, his mother said. Owen’s conditions include chronic lung disease. Slipping out just to buy grocer-
ies or to get one of the boys to the doctor has been “a little rough,” she admitted. So has getting away for a date night when her husband is home. Te result for Shenefelt has been more stress. Other Navy men and women
who have children with exceptional needs and little support have become depressed, fatigued or unable to con- tinue in their jobs. Marriages have become strained and broken. Te lucky parents have relatives or friends nearby who provide relief. But it’s not uncommon for transitory Navy families
COURTESY OF LUTHERAN COMMUNITY SERVICES NORTHWEST 36
www.thelutheran.org
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52