Proud Parent: Tina Egan – Store Support Center

Tessa Egan is a 10 year old girl with Down syndrome. She is a 5th grade student learning in an inclusive school environment in a small New England town. Growing up with two older brothers, Tessa has always been a sports fan. The opportunity to play soccer in her hometown league has brought her great joy and a sense of accomplishment. She enjoys community league soccer each year, in addition to her activities year round with Special Olympics.

Every summer she participates in a theater production with a large group of other typical children in her community. She learns her songs and dance moves, she goes with the flow of the group and has a great time up on stage.

Proud Parent: Melanie Luker -- Store Support Center

At age 2 ½, Rosie was diagnosed with Autism. She was non-verbal with severe language and social delays until age 4. After much hard work and a lot of support from professionals in the Autism community, she has recently begun to read books on her own and continues to surprise her Mom and Dad everyday. Rosie lives with her 8 year old twin sisters and also has older stepsisters nearby. She now loves to read, play and swim.

The generous support CVS Caremark Corporation has given to the various autism-related organizations over the years is truly appreciated.

Proud Parent: Andy Arland, Indianapolis, IN

Andy and his wife, Denise, have five children, three of whom have disabilities. The Arlands have 13-year-old quadruplets named Jacob, Zachary, Lucas, and Matthew. The quadruplets were born 28 weeks premature, which is the likely cause of Jacob, Zachary and Matthew being born with disabilities. The Arlands also have a fifth son, named Nicholas who is nine years old.

Jacob has Autism and is at the high functioning end of the spectrum. He has shown a very special interest in NASCAR. He now socializes something very difficult for most autistic children and is part of social group for kids with Autism and has developed a friendship with a young boy named Sam, whom Denise refers to as her son’s first friend. Together the two boys found a common interest in NASCAR and have enjoyed playing on the same soccer team this summer.

Zachary has cerebral palsy. He uses a walker to walk and has trouble with motor tasks. To help with his independence in school he uses technology to help with writing, including voice activated software and a Neo, which is a typing board. Zachary loves to act. He started acting in an inclusive group called Dream Makers, through the Arc of Hancock County when he was seven. Now he acts in a children’s theater group where he is breaking barriers as the first child with a physical disability to participate in Hancock County Children’s Theater. The group has even utilized a bit of creativity when working on Zachary’s stage entering and exiting.

Matthew also has cerebral palsy, but is affected very differently from Zachary. Matthew is only affected by his cerebral palsy on the right side of his body and can walk without assistance. However, Matthew was more impacted cognitively, which makes learning a lot harder. He has Pervasive Developmental Disorder--Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) which impacts his thinking and learning. Matthew is a very social child who is inquisitive about everything. Matthew’s biggest success has been riding at a therapeutic riding facility called the Edelweiss Equine Assisted Therapy Center in Greenfield. After three years of riding, most recently Matthew graduated this semester from assisted to independent. Matthew is also a huge fan of school buses and enjoys helping out at the school bus garage.

Proud Parent: Diana Mathews ,Columbus, Ohio

Her 26-year-old son, Mikael Shea (referred to by everyone as just “Shea”) was born with problems to his extremities and, at the age of 14, became a right-leg amputee. Shea’s fibula bone never developed, forcing him to undergo numerous corrective surgeries on his right leg and causing him to walk on a flimsy ankle and on the inside of his foot. Shea spent his early years wearing orthopedic shoes and braces, but since he was very active, he had to be replace his braces often.

One of Shea’s most difficult decisions and testament to his character came when one day his brace cracked while playing football in the backyard. He decided to talk with his doctor about options to put an end to his surgeries. After much thought, Shea decided to amputate below the knee. He now wears prosthesis.

Shea now attends the University of Cincinnati, and despite his psychical ability, he plays competitive volleyball for his college and the United States Paralympics in volleyball, playing and traveling around the country and the world.