Support For A Special Healing Place Where Kids Can Still Be Kids
Support For A Special Healing Place Where Kids Can Still Be Kids
By Kaaren Valenta
Members of the Preszler family are raising money for the Connecticut Childrenâs Medical Center (CCMC) in Hartford by holding a tag sale this weekend at their home on Overlook Drive in Newtown and by running in a half marathon in October.
The Preszlers have been involved with the medical center since daughter Julia was born seven and a half years ago.
âI have scoliosis,â Julia explained in an email to The Bee. âIt means you have croked bons [crooked bones] in your back. I started going to the hosptal [hospital] when I was two weeks old. I liked it when I got pulled around in the red wagon.â
The daughter of Cristal and Todd Preszler, Julia has congenital scoliosis, a condition often accompanied by kidney and heart problems.
âJulia has some kidney issues and reflux. She could have had heart issues, but fortunately she didnât,â Mrs Preszler said.
The Preszlers knew before Julia was born that there would be problems.
 âBefore she was born they could see the scoliosis in the ultrasounds,â Mrs Preszler said.
Julia has had two spinal fusion surgeries. The first was done when she 9½ months old.
âJulia was born with a 25 percent curve in her spine caused by what is called a unilateral bar, where the bones are connected â stuck together â on one side,â her mother said. âThe doctors told us that it would increase and by the time she was 5 months old, it was 50 degrees.â
The surgeon performed anterior and posterior spinal fusions, then Julia spent six months in a body cast, followed by six months in a brace. When she was 2½, the entire process was repeated.
âThere was a ten percent chance that the fusions wouldnât take, and we were part of that number,â Mrs Preszler said.
During the months that Julia wore the casts they were replaced several times.
âWe used to go to the hospital constantly,â Mrs Preszler said. âWe went every seven or eight weeks to remove and replace the casts. Since her last surgery, the time keeps increasing between appointments.â
Neither of the Preszlersâ other two children, Scott, 4, and Nick, 2, have scoliosis. But the entire family is involved with helping the hospital in its fundraising drive.
âThe dedication of all the staff at CCMC is unbelievable,â Mrs Preszler said. âThey are so caring and work very long hours, day after day, year after year, at personal sacrifice. I know that the doctors start rounds at 7 am, yet at 7 pm they were answering my emails.â
The children receive special treatment to make their hospital stays much less frightening, she said.
âThe children get Looney Tune âhospital scrubsâ to wear before surgeries and battery powered jeeps to ride into the emergency room,â she explained. âThey allow kids to bring their special âloveyâ into surgery with them and never once lost Juliaâs beloved âbup ragâ even though it looks remarkably like hospital linens.â
âEach time [Julia] visits, she comes away with at least stickers. But during some of her bigger procedures, she was given toys. Her favorites are Tinky Winky and Winnie the Pooh with a bunch of roses.
âThese things are so important as they are the things that she remembers from the visits, not the surgical procedures or pain,â Mrs Preszler said. âThey are also the things not covered by insurance, but are most likely provided by donations from people and organizations.â
Julia agreed. âWe want to give them money for toys and things they need,â she said. âIt is nice [for children] to know that people are thinking of you when you arenât at home where all your toys are.â
The Preszlers decided to do whatever they could to help the CCMC this year.
âTo raise money, we are having a tag sale and I am having a store selling painted rocks, pinecones with glitter, hand-drawn gift bags with a matching card,â Julia said. âMy brothers and I are having a lemonade stand at the tag sale with lemonade, of course, [and] bread made by my grandma out of zucchini from our garden, and cookies.â
(Juliaâs grandmother is Shirley Fredlund of New Milford, who nearly 14 years ago started the Voice For Joanie, Inc, organization that developed a computer-generated speech system for persons diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive disorder of the nervous system also known as Lou Gehrigâs disease.)
Neighbors and friends also will be contributing to the tag sale, which will be held Friday, August 12, and Saturday, August 13, from 8 am to 4 pm. All profits will go to the CCMC. In addition, Cristal Preszler is running in the 12th annual Hartford Marathon on October 8 to raise money for the hospital, which is a full-service hospital dedicated to improving the physical and emotional health of children.
âI will be running a half-marathon,â Mrs Preszler said. âItâs my third marathon. My goal is to run the 13.1 miles in under two hours. When I told [Juliaâs] surgeon that we were doing these things, he was the first to offer to donate to the cause. That really shows how special these people are.â