UAMS Pediatrics - KIDS FIRST Program

Shawn and Lesli Fason always knew they wanted a child. They also knew it would never be an easy journey for them.

Shawn had undergone chemotherapy at a young age to treat neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer. As a result, the Fasons were unable to conceive children naturally. They were discouraged by the difficulty of private adoption and hesitated to start the process. But Shawn and Lesli possessed deep faith and believed they would eventually receive a child. 

On the day after Easter in 2008, the couple got a strange phone call from a friend.

"One of our church members is a postpartum nurse at a hospital," Lesli said. "She called and said, 'There's a mother here who wants to put her baby up for adoption. Are you interested?'"

Shawn and Lesli jumped at the chance. Lawyer in tow, they rushed to the hospital. When they arrived, however, they discovered that the baby was slightly premature and that the birth mother had not received prenatal care.

The nurse then informed them that the baby had tested positive for methamphetamine in her bloodstream, which meant she was at high risk for mental and physical disabilities.

"Are you sure that you want her?" the nurse asked the couple.

Few were better prepared for this than Lesli, an occupational therapist and a nine-year member of the KIDS FIRST staff in Morrilton, Arkansas.

"If any family was ready to take this child, it was ours," she said.
 

Getting Help at KIDS FIRST

Within two days, baby Rebekah had arrived at her new home. Her parents finalized the adoption three months later. Meanwhile, Lesli had little time to relish the honeymoon as she kept a careful eye on her baby girl.

Lesli spotted the first difficulty almost immediately when she watched Rebekah drink from a bottle.

"Not long after we got her home, we noticed that it took her forever to eat," Lesli remembered. "I could see right away that swallowing was an issue."

As the weeks passed, Lesli also noticed that Rebekah's physical development seemed to be lagging.

"It was clear to me that she was not doing things that a two- or four-month-old should be doing," she said. "Things like rolling over, bobbing her head, or holding it up well."

Shawn and Lesli decided to enlist help. When Rebekah was two months old, her parents brought her to KIDS FIRST for a developmental evaluation. The Fasons never considered another therapy program.

"I always said that if I had a child who needed services, I would send them here," said Lesli.

KIDS FIRST gave Rebekah a thorough evaluation. The staff recommended physical therapy to help with gross motor skills such as rolling over, pushing up, and crawling. They also offered speech therapy to improve her feeding skills.


In Good Hands

The staff at KIDS FIRST has since watched Rebekah's medical situation closely.

Soon after Rebekah started the program, a speech therapist noticed that her breathing sounded rattled after feedings and told Lesli to investigate. Lesli approached the medical director at KIDS FIRST, who then ordered a swallow study at Arkansas Children's Hospital.

The study revealed that some of Rebekah's liquids were going down the wrong pipe. Without medical intervention, she could develop pneumonia.

"Now she has her liquids thickened to keep her from aspirating them into her lungs," said Lesli. "Her speech therapist oversees her feedings to make sure her airway is clear."

Rebekah then suffered a series of nighttime coughing fits that prompted a visit to the pediatrician. Lesli learned that Rebekah has asthma, for which she needs consistent monitoring and a regimen of breathing medication.

But Lesli never worries about her daughter's condition when she is cared for by the skilled nurses at KIDS FIRST.

"They just listen to her lungs, and if she is wheezing, they give her Albuterol [an asthma medication]," she said. 
 

Making Progress

Now ten months old, Rebekah is a bouncing, happy baby with an infectious smile. Her therapy is ongoing, and she has made a lot of progress in the last eight months.

Her speech therapist employs oral motor therapy, a series of special exercises designed to strengthen the lips, jaw, and tongue, to help Rebekah drink her bottles and swallow more efficiently.

"It has made such a difference," Lesli said. "Her tone and lips are tight. She can take a bottle and be done now."

Meanwhile, Rebekah's physical therapist has worked to help her achieve major milestones. 

"I really feel the physical therapist has helped her advance much more quickly than she would have otherwise," Lesli said. "They teach her how to manage her own body, like by rotating her trunk so she can catch herself when she falls."

And Rebekah's parents are thrilled to watch her learn to crawl. Lesli credits the physical therapist for helping her baby develop this important show of strength and skill.

"I just don't think she would be doing that at this point without help," she said.


An Inside Look

As a longtime employee of KIDS FIRST, Lesli has an insider's view of the teamwork among professionals that makes the program unique.

"Everyone works together for the good of the child," she said. "We all work really closely together. If I know the physical therapist is working on a certain position for a child, I'll make sure to help strengthen that position. If the speech therapist is working on a particular sound, I know to incorporate that in my session. It's a very comprehensive approach to therapy."

Lesli expressed complete confidence in the staff not only for her clients, but also for her own daughter.

"I would feel comfortable with Rebekah being in any of the classrooms," she said. "I know all the staff. Some of them have been there ten or fifteen years. And I would trust any one of them with my child."