RUN SAM RUN

FP Westwood Senior Samantha Jones stole the show at last week's St. Lucie County Track Championships where the impact of Kids at Hope filled the air at Lawnwood Stadium as students, coaching staffs, parents and fans from all of the counties six traditional public schools as well as a contingent from John Carroll High School roared with approval as she made her way around the track. And by Sams side was a non-Special Olympics student-athlete, Alma Garci, another senior at FP Westwood, encouraging her to just do her best.

April 3, 2017 – Fort Pierce, FL – When Kids at Hope Founder & Chief Treasure Hunter Rick Miller coined the slogan “All kids are capable of success – NO EXCEPTIONS” he must have been thinking of kids like Fort Pierce Westwood’s Samantha (Sam) Jones.

Sam was born with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), a very rare but severe genetic disorder that results from an abnormality on the 15^th chromosome and affects about one in 15,000 newborns each year. Putting that in perspective that equates to 0.000002% of all live births worldwide in the year 2016 alone.

Although rare, Prader-Willi syndrome is one of the ten most common conditions seen in genetics clinics and is the most common genetic cause of obesity that has been identified according to pwcf.org a California-based Foundation that supports individuals and families with the illness, along with those that care for them.

PWS is a life-long, life threating condition with no known cure that affects growth, metabolism, appetite, behavior and overall development. Many who suffer from it have no control of their appetite as their stomach never tells the brain that it’s full. For those with this debilitating illness learning disabilities are common and PWC is considered to be a mild form of mental retardation according to the National Institutes of Health. 

“When Samantha was younger I had to actually padlock the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets because she lacked that belly to brain signal”, says Sam’s mother Joan.

She has very low muscle tone and at times needs the assistance of a wheel chair because walking can be a struggle. She is in self-contained (non-mainstream) classes at FP Westwood and requires the assistance of an aide at all times. Her mother was forced to stop working to care for her. Her step father, Joe, who has raised her since she was two, is the Parts Manager for Martin County Public Schools.

Yet despite the odds being stacked against this charming young lady, Sam is a happy go lucky social butterfly who just loves to be involved.

“She understands that she is different than other kids, but that has not stopped her. She can read, write, do basic math and work on the computer. She has a boyfriend, Billy, and the two go to the Tim Tebow prom annually. She just loves to be involved”, Joan told Treasure Coast Sports Journal in an exclusive interview.

And part of that involvement includes participating in the St. Lucie County Special Olympics Unified Games where a student-athlete with a disability is paired with a not disabled student-athlete to compete in various events. For Sam that means the fifty and one-hundred-yard dashes and the four by one hundred relay.

It’s this Kids at Hope Philosophy, that every child is capable of success - no exceptions, brought to St. Lucie County by the Children's Services Council and the Executive Roundtable that enable children like Sam to wake up each day with a smile on their faces.

“Kids at Hope has become part of St. Lucie County culture. We know that providing nurturing adults help enhance resiliency in children (and adults) which decreases the factors of being "at risk". We no longer look at a child as being at risk, but look at each child's potential which gives him or her opportunities for success which is the future of hope,” according to lifelong child advocate Mrs. Kathryn Hensley, St. Lucie County School Board Member and the Chairwoman of St. Lucie’s Children's Services Council.

As Samantha stole the show at last week's St. Lucie County Track Championships the impact of Kids at Hope filled the air at Lawnwood Stadium as students, coaching staffs, parents and fans from all of the counties six traditional public schools as well as a contingent from John Carroll High School roared with approval as she slowly made her way around the track. And by Sams side was a non-Special Olympics student-athlete, Alma Garci, another senior at FP Westwood, encouraging her to just do her best.

“Creating opportunities for all students to experience what these (disabled) student-athletes experience at track meets is the essence of high school athletics.  To watch them compete, smile and enjoy the sense of teamwork and belonging.... What could be better?”, says John Lynch the Executive Director of School Transformation for St. Lucie Public Schools.

And yes it's true - All Children Are Capable of Success - NO EXCEPTIONS!