PICC

Yesterday I had to get a news paper for my office, and right on the first page was this amazing article about a woman who had become a foster mom at age 22, it went on to tell about how she had rarely been with out a baby and she has since retired from being a foster mom but she is the co founder of a place called Kent’s Pediatric Interim Care Center. I was so moved by the article that I called them and ask what I could do. I am attaching the link and the article. I hope it touches your hearts as much as it did mine. I am going to go through my oldest sons baby things and things I know he will never use I am going to donate, and plus other things. You may want to grab a tissue. Sometimes it takes one small step to change the life of many.

http://kentreporter.com/jumpstory.html?story=news1&pubdate=10/10/2007 Thats where I got the article from.

http://www.picc.net/ This is the web site for PICC


Enjoy reading:

She’s a mom to so many by Daniel Mooney Barbara Drennen sounds confident when she calls herself a mother, and she has the history to back it up.
In addition to bearing two of her own children, the 64-year-old has adopted three and cared for countless others over the years, all from the time they were newborns.
“I started fostering at the age of 22, and I just gave up my license two years ago,” Drennen said. “It was pretty emotional for me. All those years, I only went one week without a baby.”
Her fostering days may be over, but as co-founder and executive director of Kent’s Pediatric Interim Care Center, Drennen won’t have to go without a baby anytime soon. She wouldn’t have it any other way, and that longtime passion for the care of newborns who need it most was recognized this year, when she won the 2007 Stand on a Better World Local Award.
The award, sponsored by New Jersey flooring company Mannington, recognizes three women who have made a significant impact locally, nationally or globally. Drennen won the local award for developing her unique center, called PICC for short, which provides unmatched care for drug-exposed infants from across the state.
“I was honored,” Drennen said. “To receive an award like this is very humbling.”
The idea for the center began when Drennen, a longtime Kent resident, was busy fostering babies in the 1980s. She began to notice what was then becoming a widespread epidemic in the U.S. — the use of cocaine, often by pregnant mothers. The result of the drug use was premature, addicted newborns, many of which came to Drennen’s door.
“I had been a foster parent for many years, and the babies began to change,” she said. “They became very much more difficult to manage, so I decided to do something about it.”
Partnering with fellow Kent caregiver Barbara Richards, Drennen consulted with physicians and academics to learn and develop therapeutic techniques for guiding the infants through the painful period of withdrawal. “The Two Barbs,” as they were called, began providing the care in their homes, and before long, hospitals were prompting them to design a center for the valuable service.
Drennen and Richards formed PICC in Kent in October 1990.
“It’s been almost exactly 17 years now,” Drennen said. “We had no idea of the depth of the program. We knew what we wanted to do with the babies, but we didn’t know how far-reaching this was going to be.”
PICC became the first full-time newborn nursery specializing in bringing drug-addicted infants through withdrawal. It has yet to be replicated, Drennen said, though many have used the center as a model.
Richards retired in 2000, but Drennen continues to lead the PICC as executive director. Over the last 17 years, she and her staff have led more than 1,900 drug-exposed newborns through their first weeks. She has trained hundreds of caregivers, medical personnel and others in the techniques of diagnosing and handling drug-exposed infants.
PICC moved to a new facility in 2006, located at 328 Fourth Ave. S. in Kent. The two doctors, two nurses, aides and volunteers at the center now can handle about 13 babies at a time, placing them on a level of morphine that mimics their level of addiction and then slowly decreasing that level until they are no longer dependent.
“I have a staff like no other,” Drennen said. “They share my passion for the babies.”
The Legislature recently increased funding for the center, allowing for 17 infant beds.
Drennen has been a valuable resource to the public, medical community and the government on the importance of educating women about the effects of drugs on newborns, even helping to pass legislation to require reporting of newborns testing positive for illicit drugs to Child Protective Services.
And she doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
“People always ask me when I’ll retire, and I always say 10 years,” she said. “But I’ve been saying that forever, and I’m still saying it. I don’t think there’s any place I’d rather be than here.”
Drennen was selected for the Stand on a Better World Award by a panel of judges, including world-famous athlete Billie Jean King, Emmy award-winning “20/20” correspondent Deborah Roberts and 2006 Stand on a Better World recipient Olga Murray. Drennen will be honored at an awards ceremony Nov. 15 in Wilmington, Del., where one of the three recipients will be chosen as the grand-prize winner, receiving $25,000 to be donated to her chosen charity. The other two winners will receive $10,000 to be given to their chosen charities.
Contact Daniel Mooney at 253-437-6012 or dmooney@reporternewspapers.com.
In addition to bearing two of her own children, the 64-year-old has adopted three and cared for countless others over the years, all from the time they were newborns.
“I started fostering at the age of 22, and I just gave up my license two years ago,” Drennen said. “It was pretty emotional for me. All those years, I only went one week without a baby.”
Her fostering days may be over, but as co-founder and executive director of Kent’s Pediatric Interim Care Center, Drennen won’t have to go without a baby anytime soon. She wouldn’t have it any other way, and that longtime passion for the care of newborns who need it most was recognized this year, when she won the 2007 Stand on a Better World Local Award.
The award, sponsored by New Jersey flooring company Mannington, recognizes three women who have made a significant impact locally, nationally or globally. Drennen won the local award for developing her unique center, called PICC for short, which provides unmatched care for drug-exposed infants from across the state.
“I was honored,” Drennen said. “To receive an award like this is very humbling.”
The idea for the center began when Drennen, a longtime Kent resident, was busy fostering babies in the 1980s. She began to notice what was then becoming a widespread epidemic in the U.S. — the use of cocaine, often by pregnant mothers. The result of the drug use was premature, addicted newborns, many of which came to Drennen’s door.
“I had been a foster parent for many years, and the babies began to change,” she said. “They became very much more difficult to manage, so I decided to do something about it.”
Partnering with fellow Kent caregiver Barbara Richards, Drennen consulted with physicians and academics to learn and develop therapeutic techniques for guiding the infants through the painful period of withdrawal. “The Two Barbs,” as they were called, began providing the care in their homes, and before long, hospitals were prompting them to design a center for the valuable service.
Drennen and Richards formed PICC in Kent in October 1990.
“It’s been almost exactly 17 years now,” Drennen said. “We had no idea of the depth of the program. We knew what we wanted to do with the babies, but we didn’t know how far-reaching this was going to be.”
PICC became the first full-time newborn nursery specializing in bringing drug-addicted infants through withdrawal. It has yet to be replicated, Drennen said, though many have used the center as a model.
Richards retired in 2000, but Drennen continues to lead the PICC as executive director. Over the last 17 years, she and her staff have led more than 1,900 drug-exposed newborns through their first weeks. She has trained hundreds of caregivers, medical personnel and others in the techniques of diagnosing and handling drug-exposed infants.
PICC moved to a new facility in 2006, located at 328 Fourth Ave. S. in Kent. The two doctors, two nurses, aides and volunteers at the center now can handle about 13 babies at a time, placing them on a level of morphine that mimics their level of addiction and then slowly decreasing that level until they are no longer dependent.
“I have a staff like no other,” Drennen said. “They share my passion for the babies.”
The Legislature recently increased funding for the center, allowing for 17 infant beds.
Drennen has been a valuable resource to the public, medical community and the government on the importance of educating women about the effects of drugs on newborns, even helping to pass legislation to require reporting of newborns testing positive for illicit drugs to Child Protective Services.
And she doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
“People always ask me when I’ll retire, and I always say 10 years,” she said. “But I’ve been saying that forever, and I’m still saying it. I don’t think there’s any place I’d rather be than here.”
Drennen was selected for the Stand on a Better World Award by a panel of judges, including world-famous athlete Billie Jean King, Emmy award-winning “20/20” correspondent Deborah Roberts and 2006 Stand on a Better World recipient Olga Murray. Drennen will be honored at an awards ceremony Nov. 15 in Wilmington, Del., where one of the three recipients will be chosen as the grand-prize winner, receiving $25,000 to be donated to her chosen charity. The other two winners will receive $10,000 to be given to their chosen charities.
Contact Daniel Mooney at 253-437-6012 or dmooney@reporternewspapers.com. -->

Stem Cell Research

Okay so I have to write a paper for my child development class and I am in need of some help on this. The topic when is a life a life? Where I have to also discuss if I am okay with stem cell research. I am pretty sure I am against it for a few reasons. But I tried to look up on line the first few days of development and there isn't much out there.
What I am asking is if you could just write your views on this and I will see if I can make since of all of this in my head for my paper.

Thanks for your help.

True Friends

I use to think that a true friend was some one that you got together with once in a while and the person whom you told everything to. I also thought htat this person would be there for the long ride. Boy was I slapped in the face this past year with finding out who my true friends were.

H and I did everything together, there wasn't much time that we weren't doing something together. When we were hanging out we were on the phone just talking. She was the person I went to with everything. Then shortly after I got pregnant her husband got new orders to relocate to another country. I thought that the distance wouldn't be a problem with our friendship. It took a while for her phone service to get on and it cost alot to call her. So I thought emails or snail mail would keep us connected. But in the mean time life happened and some how we drifted apart. I couldn't even tell you the last time I talked to her, I mean really talked to her and caught up on life. I miss the days of her being part of my life.

K and I had the summer of a life time. The summer when I was trying yo find my place and who I was. It was a blast. Then she met a guy and I went mine. After a huge blow up we barely talked. After I found out I was pregnant I had lots of time to think about mending things in my past so I figure why not. I went to her work and we talked during a lunch, you could feel the tention. But our frenship started to pick up again. In time I saw that she hadn't changed. She drank more than ever and other choices in her life were ones I wasn't sure I wanted to be a part of because I had changed alot in my life. I am not saying that I woke up one morning and became this great person. But with time I became a good person. I did things I could be proud of. So today she sends me a message saying "whatever, you never want to do anything any more", to be honest I am not sure I do.

You maybe wondering where I am going with this. Well those are two people who mean something to me and not even one of them called me to see how I was holding up on my sons first birthday. Not even an email to say they were there if I needed them.

You know who did talk to me that week was S and she was a great shoulder to lean on and I hope I can be there for her. Thank you S for all that you have said to me and thank you for being there. It has meant a lot to me.

Have you looked at who your true friends are lately?

MOM

Okay so before I go to a visit I prepare my self for the changes that have happened since last time I visited with him. So that I can mentally beokay with where he is and so it won't be super emotional at the time of the visit. Before the last visit we had talked about what he was doing such as crawling and pulling him self up and talking. So with knowing he was talking I don't know why I was so surprised that he could say mom mom mom. I looked at him and had to step in to the bath room to regroup my self. I mean I knew he could talk I guess I just forgot that he would of course what to say mom mom mom. Also they were not tears of just sadness but tears of joy because that showed just how much he cared for his mom. The part that I knew would heart the heart one day was knowing he would call mom and not me. I guess it just caught me off guard. But I am so happy for her to have the title as mom, which wasa dream come true for her. When he is old enough he will be able to say Julie and it will bring a tear to my eye too.

1ST Bithday party and visit

Yesterday I was honored to be present at Jadons 1st birthday party. When I arrived he had just woken up from a nap and just looked at me trying to place where he knew me from and he wasn't sure if he wanted to leave his moms arms yet or not. Which was okay as I understood that from prior mothering exprience. With in a few minutes I was ready to try to hold him, and to my surprise he came right to me, but he was sure to look and make sure his mom was still close. I then got to seed him his lunch. He sat there in his chair and when he was ready for another bite his little mouth would just pop open and he would give me this look like your not giving me food fast enough. But in between bites I would get the most presious smile in the world. As he ate he would look behind me as thats was where Jacob his big brother was sitting, and he wanted to know what he was doing. I love holding him as much as I can during my visits. We then played on the floor, as his mom got things ready for his party to begin.

On this visit I was also honored to get to meet other people who play a role in his life. He has two great sets of grandparents who love him so much. Another benifit if this was seeing how much he loved each of them back and being included in that part of his life.

He wasn't to sure about the sound of the paper when he opened his gifts but he liked what was in the inside once the paper was gone. Also when it came time for cake he didn't mind putting his hands in it but he wanted nothing to do with eating it. Later he enjoyed some of his moms chocolate cake which he couldn't seem to get enough of. After he got all messy I had the honor of giving him his clean up bath.

In bath time I was able to capture some smiles on my camera. This was the first bath I had given him since his very first bath ever which I had given him in the hospital a year before. This time he was able to sit up all by him self and splash in the water and play with the new bath toys I had given him as a birthday gift.

We played some more through out the after noon and then he got super sleepy so I attempted to put him down for a nap. I wanted to try and rock him to sleep as it gives me some alone time with him during the visit. So we took Tad bit and went in to try and nap. Well his super excited to see him big brother didn't want to get out of the room and of course Jadon wanted nothing more than to stay up and play with him. So once I was able to get him out of the room he started to suck his thumb and then layed his head on my shoulder. Then he would hear some one in the hall way and look around. Then he would look at me and just grin and grin. As we were in there it was almost as if he knew how much I needed those smiles. He was also full of giggles which he shared with me. Then in would come Jacob trying to see what was going on. He just became more and more tired. So finally his mom brought in one last bottle for him. As I held him and he drifted off to sleep I fed him his last bottle. Which was nice because I had fed him his first bottle ever and his last once. Which is a memory I will cherish forever. I was able to rock him to sleep which I guess he usually doesn't let any one do, but I am sure he knew how much I needed to feel him asleep on my chest

I believe every time he looks at me with those big blue eyes he knows what happened and almost as if he understands. I know later I will have to answer any questions he may have. It was agreat visit. I look forward to seeing him on the next one. In the mean time I will enjoy all the picture I took and the ones I will get along the way.

Happy 1st Birthday

Last year on September 12th the most amazing baby entered the world, and not knowing that the following events would change the course of his life forever. As he came out I saw the joy on his new parents face and I knew what I was doing was right so if I had any doubt up to that point it was gone. The nurse laid him on my chest and the tears filled my eyes ones of joy not ones of sadness I was so excited to finally bemeeting him.

Now it has been one year and its hard to believe. With each visit he gets bigger and bigger and starts to become his own person. The first birthday was hard for me because the events of his birth even though they were good played over and over in my mind. I think everything I looked at had some way of reminding me of him and how we spent the first few days of his life together, and prepared to go our seperate ways. To me its hard I guess to see him as a toddler when in my mind he is still this tiny baby even though I have pictures and I have seen him in person to make that not true.

I made it though as will the other moms who have went through this before me and the ones to come after me. But I am greatful for the moms who are goign though this that I have the chance to become friends with.

Kidergarten Blues

Last week I got to experience sending my son off to Kindergarten. You would think this would be an easy task since I dropped him off at day care Monday through Friday. The night before he ask me "Mom what if no body likes me?", I looked at him and assured him every one would love him and he would make so many new friends. He seemed okay until it came time to say good bye until the afternoon. Sure enough his little eyes filled with tears and I just hugged him pointed him in the direction of his class and hid in the corner behind another mom. I feel like a coward for being behind that other mom but I knew that if I didn't cut it short right then it would be harder later. Tears filled my eyes and started down my cheek. When the mom in front of me looked back and put her arms around me and said this must be your first and she said it would get better by the end of the week and assured me that I would be okay. It was so nice of her to do that and I wanted to say thank you to her but I haven't seen her since the first day. Her words meant to much to me at that moment. She was right to by the end of the week both of us were just fine. But wow does taking them to Kindergaten on the first day tug on your heart.