Special kids get a special visit with Santa

Published 9:58 pm Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Visiting Santa can be intimidating for any child. A crowded mall? An up-close encounter with a bearded stranger in a red suit? For lots of kids, it’s no joy.

When children have special needs, getting that picture with Santa can sometimes be too daunting to even attempt.

“We’ve tried the Santa thing before,” said Anna Kagley, of Everett. She and her husband, Robert Snider, are foster parents who care for children with serious medical and developmental issues.

They have custody of their 7-year-old great-nephew Ethan, who is deaf and blind, has cerebral palsy, chronic lung disease and is tube-fed.

“It’s too hard with Ethan,” Kagley said. “With all of his equipment, pushing him in a wheelchair, going out with him is a big challenge. If you want to get a cute picture, that takes some work.”

Thanks to the efforts of Kagley, volunteers from Providence Hospice and Home Care of Snohomish County and one wonderful Santa, Ethan and other special-needs children were treated to a Santa visit tailored just for them.

On Saturday, Dean and Glenda Wilson put on their well-worn Santa and Mrs. Claus costumes as Providence Hospice hosted an event at the agency’s Everett office. For six years, the Wilsons have made Christmas Day visits to families with children being served by hospice pediatric services.

This is the first year for the Santa photo party, organized by Kagley and Mike Mazurek, a social worker with Providence Hospice pediatric home care and the agency’s Carousel program.

“It’s hard for these families with medically fragile kiddos,” said Mazurek, who added that some diseases cause behaviors that may make other people uncomfortable.

Many parents avoid being in public, which deprives the whole family of fun and memorable experiences, he said. Mazurek said that Dean Wilson’s Santa is at ease and accommodating with all children.

Glenda Wilson works as a hospice home health aid. Her husband drives a paratransit van for Everett Transit. The Tulalip couple get many calls to play Santa during the holidays, but Dean Wilson said their hearts are with the children who have special needs. “Their reactions are the real joy,” said the 62-year-old Santa stand-in.

“Our Santa is sensitive to medically challenged children, whatever the disability,” said Connie Wittren, director of development for Providence Hospice.

Workers from the agency’s volunteer department dressed up as elves and devoted their Saturday to the event, where families shared cookies and were given free Santa photos. Wittren said the floor was covered with blankets and bean bags for the children’s comfort. No one was bothered when a parent took time out for a child’s tube feeding, she said.

Families that Kagley knows through a parent support network came from as far as the Olympic Peninsula for the Saturday’s party.

Dwight and Tami Barry, of Port Angeles, came with their 3-year-old son David, who has a degenerative brain disorder, and their 5-year-old daughter Kate.

“David is profoundly and complexly disabled,” said Tami Barry. “He has many issues. He is nonverbal, he has a wheelchair and a feeding tube. He has a short life expectancy. This was a place where David could meet Santa and sit on his lap. He just wouldn’t be able to do that in the mall with the crowds,” she said.

Even in a gentle setting, Santa can be scary. Tami Barry said their daughter has refused to sit on Santa’s lap every year. “Kate is typically abled,” she said. David had his Santa experience, but Kate still refused on Saturday. “It’s funny,” Tami Barry said.

For parents of special-needs children, the holidays can add sadness to the difficulty of daily life.

“Birthdays, Christmases, for most children they are celebrations of landmarks,” Kagley said. With Ethan, she said, “it’s sort of melancholy. He can’t open his own presents or blow out his own candles. He can’t have Christmas cookies.”

How lovely that these children could meet Santa, a tradition most of us take for granted.

Mazurek, the hospice social worker, is in awe of the strength shown by parents of special-needs children.

“Even though I’m in their homes every day, I have no clue what it is to walk in their shoes,” he said.

Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlstein@heraldnet.com.