Our Stars shine in Puyallup
DEBBY ABE; Staff writer
Like kids in any talent show, the youngsters Saturday in Puyallup wore their prettiest dresses, their coolest shirts and their biggest smiles as they entered the spotlight.
But these 60 performers on the Kalles Junior High School stage had extra-special talents to match their extra-special personalities.
Three-year-old Makayla Adams and 2-year-old sister Mariah showed their skills maneuvering their recently acquired power wheelchairs around orange cones.
Federal Way sixth-grader Dashaun Davis-Sanders, who loves playing on his wheelchair soccer team, displayed another talent: Singing the Black Eyed Peas’ “I’ve Gotta Feeling.”
Nine-year-old D.J. Hertzog held the audience spellbound by tying a tennis shoe lace using his right hand and the metal graspers of his new prosthetic left hand. When he finished, he hugged his chest in triumph and lit up the entire cafeteria with a face-splitting grin.
The fourth annual Celebration of Our Stars talent show was filled with one heartwarming act after another as children with special needs took the stage.
Gary Cook of Buckley explained what the program meant for his 4-year-old son, Connor, and the other performers: “It’s really great because it’s kind of his one chance to be the same as everybody and have his one special moment.”
The stars included clients at the Children’s Therapy Unit of MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital, as well as students in Puyallup’s SAIL program at Kalles and E-SAIL at Ridgecrest Elementary School.
Most of the children who receive therapy at the CTU have neuromuscular disorders, such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, speech delays, autism or Down syndrome, said Scott Claeys with the Good Samaritan Foundation.
The CTU’s goal is to help children live independent lives, and Saturday’s program gave them a chance to celebrate their progress.
To organize the show, therapists Joyce Vipond and Sara Kerrick led volunteers from the hospital, from Kalles’ student drama program and from the community. Funding support came from Good Samaritan’s Grannie’s Attic Thrift Shop.
Cook was among the hundreds of camera-snapping parents, family members and friends who packed the Kalles cafeteria to see the show. He said Conner suffers from sensory integration dysfunction.
“He understands what he hears, but he can’t put what he hears and feels with what he sees,” Cook said of his son. “They’re almost like three separate people sensing it.”
Thus, it was quite an accomplishment for the boy to correctly call out “lellow,” “blue,” “red” and “gween” as an assistant pulled out pieces of colored paper.
The bright-blue-eyed boy said he wasn’t nervous. “I was thinking about the trophy,” he said, clutching the award with a big golden star that each performer received.
Several families had multiple siblings in the show. Eleven-year-old Susan Jones, who can now walk 20 steps without a walker, kept the crowd chuckling with her knock-knock jokes and riddles. Each time she delivered the punch line, 5-year-old brother Peyton cried out, “Sil-lyyyyy.”
Their mother, Ann Jones, said Susan has moderate cerebral palsy and Peyton has a severe speech delay. The talent show was Susan’s third appearance and Peyton’s second.
“It’s good every year,” their mother said. “The kids don’t really have an opportunity to show what they can do. It gives them a chance to be like everyone else.”
The mother has a special talent too. She’s raising Susan, Peyton and 3-year-old Keegan – and she is pregnant – while her husband, Staff Sgt. Darrell Jones, serves his third deployment to Iraq. The family lives at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
In a way, the show was an acknowledgement of parents’ achievements in helping their children thrive.
As with many families, Terry and Carla Baysinger of Puyallup have lives packed with appointments for doctors, therapy, the hospital and, in their case, advocating for children with congenital heart defects.
Carla Baysinger heads the Seattle-area chapter of the national group “It’s My Heart, Inc.” They were sure to tell folks about the group’s fundraising walk at Seattle’s Green Lake on Oct. 2.
Their sons, Josiah, who turns 3 this month, and 18-month-old Jeremiah were born with significant heart defects. On Saturday, Josiah performed the “Fruit Salad” dance and Jeremiah pushed a cart on stage.
“It’s a good booster for the kids and families,” Terry Baysinger said. “Families need it too.”
Debby Abe: 253-597-8694
debby.abe@thenewstribune.com
