“And march!” cries the nurse as she is followed by a three-foot girl with a bow in her hair. The procession turns the corner and carries on into a room full of cribs and laughter. Tatum brings up the rear but steals the show every step of the way.

Tatum is a precious three-year-old girl who comes to Special Kids for more than just parades around the building. Tatum attends our skilled nursing program and receives speech and feeding therapies while at Special Kids. Tatum was born at 34 weeks and spent the first two weeks of her life in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Her lungs still needed to be developed, and she was kept on ventilation. After coming home, Tatum developed severe gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and at three-months, Tatum had surgery to put in a feeding tube. Because of her prematurity, Tatum also developed kidney reflux and asthma and has had delayed milestones and speech. 

Since starting at Special Kids in 2010, Tatum has learned how to use sign language to communicate and is now talking nonstop and putting two and three word phrases together. “Special Kids is our life-line,” said Tatum’s mother, Jennifer Cantrell, of her and her husband Scottie. “They are the support that we never knew was there and have been a tremendous help in her getting to where she is.” Tatum continues to steal the show and our hearts at Special Kids. While her mother Jennifer describes Special Kids as “a life-changing experience for us,” the staff and board at Special Kids cannot help but be changed by having this amazing little girl in our lives as well.

Photo by: Kate Crafton

Photo by: Kate Crafton

Photo by: Kate Crafton

Photo by: Kate Crafton