Two of my grandchildren and I placed our small flags in the yard beside the street curbing and up our driveway to mark Memorial Day. We discussed what this holiday was all about. I hope you also marked Memorial Day in some way, tying the past to the present as our gift to the future.
You may have seen this on Facebook but for those of you who don’t do Facebook or didn’t receive this, below is a bit of a snapshot of what goes on at Crossnore. In addition, the Crossnore Weaving Room is celebrating their 100th Anniversary this year and there will be a 9 minute documentary created by the communications team and a Wake Forest University intern available to the public soon.
During this time, all of us are facing new situations – successes and failures – as we navigate our current challenges. Here is an encouraging story that occurred in our community foster care program.
We received a call from DSS several weeks ago saying that a baby had been born prematurely at 28 weeks. The doctors did not expect the little boy to live due to the early birth and the number of substances in his body. He was abandoned in the hospital. Due to the impact of Covid, the volunteers that the NICU normally uses to hold infants were not allowed on the floor. Therefore the baby boy was left on his own in the incubator most of the time.
Due to this, the county looked to identify a family who would be the visiting resource at the hospital and, eventually, the foster placement home when the baby was to get discharged. The doctors said that they would expect at least a three month stay in the NICU before the baby was strong enough to leave.
We were able to identify a family, who were a first time home and had not had a placement before. The family committed to visiting and holding the baby on a daily basis. Through education from nurses and doctors and their love, commitment and dedication through the Covid lockdown, the baby grew quickly and strongly. The doctors discharged him after only three and a half weeks!
He is now safely in the home of our foster family. He still faces some health challenges, but with the love and care of our wonderful family, he has a significantly better chance at a healthy life!
Carole Weiss, State Regent
