July 2019

July 2019

KEEP COOL AND SAFE

Health & Safety ISSUE

THIS SUMMER

Jump Into the (Pig) Pin

We value our educators!

Enjoy the following discounts during the week of July 15-19: (please present school ID at time of service)

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At Pediatric Dental Associates and Orthodontics you’ll discover that we go the extra mile for our patients! From the moment you see our office, you’ll know what we mean. We have a fully themed environment that is comforting and fun for your children.

We offer preventive, restorative, and orthodontic services for kids ages 0-18.

We also specialize in dental care for children with special needs.

1607 E. Rainforest Rd. Fayetteville, AR 72703

801 SW Regional Airport Blvd.

Bentonville, AR 72712

Fayetteville: 479-582-0600

Bentonville: 479-268-5000

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We accept all insurances and we are in-network with Delta Dental, Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, ARKids, Delta Dental Smiles, and MCNA. 4 July 2019

We are privileged to introduce Kelsey Gilley, CNM to Lifespring Women’s Healthcare

Kelsey Gilley, CNM As a Certified Nurse Midwife, Kelsey will see patients for gynecoligic care, pregnancy and deliver at Northwest Health-Bentonville.

Katie Beal, MD

She has experience in both Hospital-based and Birth center-based deliveries. She will be working closely with Northwest Health-Bentonville, providing education and patient care as we develop Northwest Arkansas’ first hospital based low intervention birth program that is lead and supported by our Midwife and Physician Providers and utilizes the full spectrum of alternative pain relief and team-based birth approach.

www.luminisbylifespring.com

The

Family KIMBERLY ENDERLE Editor-in-Chief editor@peekaboonwa.com | 479-957-0532

JONATHON ENDERLE Creative Director jon@peekaboonwa.com | 479-586-3890

Jonathon and Kim with Grant, Ava, Gwen and Holden PHOTO BY MAIN STREET STUDIOS

DISTRIBUTION/ CIRCULATION Joyce Whitaker Judy Evans Marcedalia Salinas

Jeremy Whitaker Michelle Dodson

Peekaboo Publications

FRANCES WILSON Assistant Editor

BEN LACY Dad’s View

Columnist

MEAGAN RUFFING Columnist

PO Box 1036 Bentonville, Arkansas 72712 Please send inquiries to: editor@peekaboonwa.com or call 479-957-0532 www.peekaboonwa.com Peekaboo may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Views expressed herein are those of the authors and advertisers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the magazine.

PEEKABOO Northwest Arkansas accepts writing contributions

6 July 2019

DAVID HOVEY Story Design

ANA ORTIZ Social Media Photography

Celebrating One Year

You can help kids of Care Close tobe Home

BRAVE this holiday season

Our first year was a big one and we're just getting started! Thank you to our donors, patients, families and staff. We're proud to deliver care close to home for the children of Northwest Arkansas.

2,003 Surgeries

30,104 Outpatient Visits

19,133 Emergency Visits

1,978

Inpatient Admissions

Your gift of $25, $50hospital or more will help Why choose a children's for your child?

Get an inside look at archildrens.org/oneyear champion children and the everyday heroes at Arkansas Children’s.

Please give generously!

Visit giving.archildrens.org (479) 725-6800 | 2601 Gene George Blvd., Springdale, AR 72762 Across from Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Don Tyson Pkwy. Exit 70 or call (800) 880-7491 Patient data from March 1, 2018 – February 28, 2019

Natural beauty.

Personal generosity.

Real community.

And new growth.

Mercy is glad to call Arkansas our home‌for over 150 years.

Learn how our $277 million expansion of facilities and services will improve quality of life in NWA. Visit mercy.net/Peekaboo

Your life is our life’s work.

Inside

Also

J U LY 2 0 1 9

12

Letter from the Editor

26

Keep Cool and Safe this Summer!

BY: RHONDA WOTOWIS

36

Riding Your River of Grief

14

#Thisismystory: Harper Solley Roberts

20

Pedal it Forward BY: RHONDA FRANZ

BY: AMBER ROBERTS

BY: SUSAN AVERITT

40

Peekaboo’s Mom Hacks from NWA Moms in the Know

42

Staying Safe in Summer: Five Facts BY: DWAIN HEBDA

46

12 Free Things to Do with Your Kids this Summer BY: MEAGAN RUFFING

48

22

38

Elder & Magnolia

Dad’s View

BY: ASHLEY MUSE

WITH BEN LACY

52

Hidden Dangers in Unexpected Places

54

Jump Into the (Pig) Pin BY: TERRI MALLIOUX

BY: LAUREN HAYS

*Northwest Health Physicians’ Specialty Hospital is owned, in part, by physicians.

Cover Sponsored by: Northwest Health www.northwesthealth.com 10 July 2019

Meet the Doctors: Willow Creek Women’s Clinic

On the Cover: The doctors of Willow Creek

Women’s Clinic.

Addison and Mia McCollum with mom, Dr. Alexis McCollum.

Piers Ivy with mom, Dr. Serena Pierson (Ivy).

Kinley Lambdin, daughter of clinic manager Ashley Lambdin, with Dr. Jan Furniss.

Photo by : Sorella Photography

High quality child care looks like

IMAGINATION.

Imagination is essential to the learning process.

It allows us to solve problems. It enables creativity.

Imagination allows us to see what is not there and to create it. It is a skill for life.

When teachers model play, read and tell stories, children learn to imagine.

Sticks and Stones Creativity Sticks and Stones Creativity

Ask your toddler to make a face with playdough, sticks and stones.

Even better, show him how to make a mud pie man!

There is a world of natural resources outdoors.

Playing with those elements – from the woods, park or your own backyard – helps children develop a love of nature. When children appreciate the beauty of nature, they become caretakers of it.

We can’t always take off to the woods to appreciate Mother Nature. Teach your children to treat her gently. She won’t mind if you bring home a few small pieces.

Sort out the different elements and talk about what they are.

• What are their names?

• What are they made of?

Your preschooler may make a nature scene from collected elements of nature. Imagination turns “trash” into treasure. Talk about his or her creation.

Help your toddler set up a pie plate jungle made from nature’s own supply closet. Let your child do the arranging!

• Where did they come from?

• Do they grow on trees?

• Do they come from the water, a creek or forest?

• Do they need water? Light? Soil? Darkness?

Parents may have to do a little research, but that’s a bonus activity to share.

Go outside and play!

Visit our website to find child care that nurtures your child’s imagination.

Don't forget to Get Muddy with Your Buddy!

Here’s how.

ARBetterBeginnings.com • 1-800-445-3316

Learn more at bit.ly/pkstick

ARBetterBeginnings.com • 1-800-445-3316 Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education

See our outdoor resource pages for more fun activities for discovering nature.

Click here to visit our Resource Library. You’ll find activities and tips to help you prepare your child for life.

If you have a story to share, or an idea for a story, email editor@peekaboonwa. com and become a part of the Peekaboo family!

From the Editor

HERE IS A LOOK AHEAD! _____________________________ AUGUST is time to head back to school, with our most comprehensive guide to school options yet!

SEPTEMBER is all about honoring our hometown heroes! Want to share a special message for a special hero?

Email us at editor@peekaboonwa.com In OCTOBER, we turn the spotlight on families of multiples and share their tales, tips and tricks! Are you a twin or triplet, or a parent of multiples?

Email editor@peekaboonwa.com

J

uly -- when summer is at its peak of perfection! All schools are out, vacations are in full swing, and all the ‘epic blowout’ emotions -- those that usually only peek their intense little heads out for a few minutes a day during the school year, between homework, dinner, sports and bedtime -- now have 24 hours a day to be expressed without limit.

For example, a brother who likes to pick on his sister usually only has a short window during the school year to do so, because there are a lot of other things to do, and the time together is minimal. Come summertime, however, the opportunities to nag, annoy, disgust, and bother are available and utilized multiple times a day. By the same token, that same sister also has endless hours to plan and execute retaliation.

Emotional appetites are only matched by physical ones, as summer snacks disappear at a rate equivocal to housing a team of athletes training for the Olympics. It makes me wonder... are my kids getting enough food the other nine months out of the year, or do they spend the summer storing food, like a bear does before hibernating?

In that vein, summer can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially for parents. Life is often compared to a rat race, wherein we are all in an endless, pointless pursuit of whatever we want at that particular moment. While I have never liked rats, or 12 July 2019

photo by: Main Street Studios

being compared to one, I do find myself in a similar kind of race - a horse race, with little tiny humans jockeying for the first-place position of my attention. This is doubly true in summer.

While I understand that life is full of competitions of all sorts, it wasn’t until having almost as many kids as I do fingers on one hand that I realized that sometimes we enter into competitions we aren’t even aware of with the people we love. For instance, even if you give virtually the exact privileges, time and positive energy to each individual child, they will still compete to get ‘ahead’ of the rest. On their own, each of my four little people are perfectly content, wellbehaved, responsible, and caring people, but, when thrown into a room together, it is an all-out competition, each one vying for their place in a winner’s circle that only exists in their imagination. Despite that truth, if one little Enderle starts telling about their day, the other three are sure to chime in with something “much better” to share, in a louder voice. If you compliment one child, even if it is out of earshot of the others, you will eventually be bombarded with statements about how “you love him/her more” or “well... he/she isn’t as good at this or that, like I am.”

Family is a place to practice for the real world in a safe environment, and competing with one another is no

different. Now is their chance to navigate their world and make it to the ‘top.’ I get it. I am a very competitive person myself, to the point that I don’t compete if I know I can’t win. (Healthy way of looking at things, isn’t it? Also, I am starting to feel like my monthly letter from the editor is great fodder for any psychologists reading. Please feel free to send me your analysis and any advice. But... I digress).

At the end of the day, it is our job to teach our kids that while being on top is a good goal, it isn’t everything, and being kind and considerate and applauding the accomplishments of the rest of the group is just as important.

This month also reminds me of how special summertime was for me as a kid.

Despite being well past the age to order a kids’ meal (even though it doesn’t always stop me from doing so!) I want to start living with the same simple joys of my childhood. After all, when I send Grant to the mailbox, he is overjoyed each time, in the same way that he is excited to open a ‘surprise’ toy from the store. Side note: The mailbox is basically an adult version of this “blind bag” toy trend - sometimes

you get checks, sometimes bills, sometimes junk mail, but you don’t know until you open the mailbox.

I was the same way when I was his age.

When my mom used to let me get the mail for her, the “junk mail” was always mine. I would open each piece and pretend that it was the most important piece of paper in the world. The colors of the advertisement inside were just for me, and the coupon collection and the sweepstakes catalog were my personal correspondence. Every day had a bit of magic.

My challenge for you this month is to live your life with the same excitement you did as a kid... and open the junk mail first. What do I mean by that? In the few short weeks left of summer, just throw all routines out the car window. Reasonable bed time? Forget it, because the sun doesn’t even think about trying to set until past my own bedtime. Meals within a normal breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner schedule? Impossible. Embrace it! Relax the rules just a bit and enjoy the summer!

There will only be one Summer of 2019, and only a few short days before we’re back to the school day grind!

Kim Enderle

Spectacular Science NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

• School Assemblies & Workshops • Special Events & Camps • Corporate/Non-Profit Presentations • Awesome Party Concept

EDUCATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT FOR ALL AGES!

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#

This is mystory HARPER SOLLEY ROBERTS

by: Amber Roberts

I’ll never, ever forget the first time I saw my babies. They were just embryos on a printout from our fertility clinic. Neither had any discernable features, but those were very much my babies.

I can’t describe why, but, when I left the hospital that day, I knew that I would hold those babies in a few short months. I was sure of it, and, a few weeks later, a blood test confirmed the news we had prayed to hear: I was pregnant.

We would soon find out that there were, in fact, two babies growing in my belly. Jerry and I were simultaneously thrilled and a little bit scared to death. As hard as we tried, we couldn’t quite wrap our minds around the logistics of two babies at once. We researched, we celebrated, we shopped, and we prepared our home and our family to grow from a family of four to six.

Because I had a scare at five weeks, we had ultrasounds almost weekly to check on the babies’ progress. We watched as they grew from those microscopic embryos to wiggly little fetuses with limbs and sweet little profiles. Even in the 14 July 2019

earliest ultrasounds, they had their own distinct personalities. Baby B was our calm baby. He moved and shifted, but he was happy to be snuggled and unbothered in his little space— a lot like his daddy. Baby A was our active one.

She was always wiggling, never still. This baby was like me. She was practically tap dancing on the screen, as if saying, “Hey! Look at me!” And then, one day... she wasn’t.

Our twenty week anatomy scan was supposed to be an exciting one. We would finally know the gender of our babies. We could give them names.

We could decorate their nursery. We had so many plans, and we couldn’t wait to move forward with them. We brought my mother and our 11-yearold daughter, Halle, with us. Everything had been so normal that there wasn’t any reason to believe that we shouldn’t share the excitement with them.

So, we went to get breakfast (donuts and orange juice—the babies always moved more when I had sugar) and then headed to the clinic. The technician found Baby A first. She tried to get it to cooperate, but it just wouldn’t. We moved on to Baby B and found out that it was a boy: Jaxson “Jax” Childrey-- after my grandfather, and

one of my very favorite people in the world. The technician kept trying with Baby A, to no avail.

She said we would try again next week and started taking measurements.

I should have sensed something was wrong when they sent me in for my consultation, but I guess the excitement of the day clouded my judgment a bit. My sweet doctor came in and told me, in the most gentle voice, “There’s a little bit of concern about Baby A. It’s not moving around as much as we would like. It’s nothing to worry about now, but I want to send you for a level 2 ultrasound to make sure.” He reassured us that none of my other tests had indicated anything was wrong, and scheduled my appointment.

The level 2 ultrasound confirmed our worst fears.

The genetic specialist said words like “multiple abnormalities,” and “extremely low fluid.” They told us that there was every indication that Jax was healthy, but that our sweet baby A wouldn’t survive.

I have never cried as much as I did in that office.

In fact, crying probably isn’t a sufficient word to describe what I did that day. Guttural sounds and wailing came out of me. I became physically ill. Where just a few weeks ago we couldn’t wrap our minds around two babies, we now couldn’t imagine only bringing home one. We went home

and sat in silence for the longest time. We cried.

We held each other. We prayed silent prayers.

Nothing we could say or do seemed sufficient. It felt like a horrible nightmare that just wouldn’t end.

We were never given an official diagnosis for our baby, but we knew that the fluid levels in that sac were extremely low and, because of this, the baby wasn’t developing properly. This indicated that the baby likely did not have functioning kidneys.

Our specialist in Little Rock would later tell us that the baby appeared to be missing several vital organs. He would explain that this baby was Jax’s guardian angel... that its job was to stay with us long enough to make sure that Jax could arrive as healthy and fully developed as possible.

The only thing we knew to do was pray, so that’s what we did in the days and weeks that followed.

I would wake up in the middle of the night and think of people whom I hadn’t asked to pray, and I would send emails. I blogged the story of our babies, sharing every detail and asking for specific prayers—and in turn, we had people from all around the world praying for our family. At our specialist appointments, we took notes and explained that we needed to know exactly

Turn the page...

what to pray for. Even though the medical evidence indicated that our baby was hopeless, our doctor understood our faith and was so incredibly kind to us.

We found out that Baby A was likely a girl.

We named her Harper Solley, after Jerry’s grandfather. We continued to prepare to bring home two babies, praying desperately for a miracle. We bought matching outfits.

We decorated the nursery and assembled two cribs. We knew that God was able to give our daughter her healing, and we were preparing for that miracle to take place.

I spent my days that summer writing to my babies. I told them how much I loved them from the first time I saw them on the photo in that fertility clinic. I talked to them about how many people loved them and prayed for them.

I sang to them, and told them the plans their daddy and I had for them even before we held them.

I’ve heard people say that their faith sustained them during troubling times, and now I understand that wholeheartedly. I couldn’t bear the thought of my baby dying. Only my faith made it possible for my mind to rest and for my body to function and help Jax grow as much as he could. My faith made it possible for me to rest at night. It made it possible for Jerry to work, and for us to be able to continue to parent our older children. Our faith made it possible for us to move past those guttural wails and the coldness of that ultrasound room, and out into the world, where we had to find out how to survive one day at a time.

Then, on August 18th, at 29 weeks gestation, I went into labor. We were transported to Little Rock, where they thought that my labor had stopped, only to have contractions start again 6 hours later. I remember laying there in that hospital bed, medicated, just aware enough to see the specialists come in to have whispered conversations with Jerry about Harper. I remember the worried expressions on the faces of my family in my room. But, strangely enough, I remember feeling this overwhelming peace. In fact, I knew in my heart as they were wheeling me in for a C-section that I would only hold my daughter once. I knew that Jax would be okay, and that somehow we would be, too.

Our Harper had been given one job by our specialist, and she did it well. Her brother was born 2 lbs 14 ounces and 15 inches long. He 16 July 2019

was tiny, but he was absolutely perfect. He was breathing on his own, so well that his nurses brought him to my bed first instead of directly to the NICU, where he would end up spending his first 47 days of life. He is now a strong, vibrant, healthy, funny 5 ½-year-old who makes our home loud and crazy in the very best way possible.

My sweet Harper was 2 lbs 2 ounces. She had a head full of thick, dark hair, and looked identical to my baby pictures. She was exactly as she was intended to be, and was absolutely beautiful. I held her with her brother, and we passed them around to our family like the proud parents we were. She lived for one hour and 44 minutes. Her daddy dressed her in the only dress she would ever wear, and showed her the only sunset she would ever experience. I held her on my chest and thanked God for her life and for the sweet, tiny baby boy that was in the NICU down the hall. I thanked Him for every beat of her tiny heart, and for the privilege of being her mommy, even for a brief time.

In the nine weeks since our ultrasound, I hadn’t been able to even think about what would happen

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#Thisismystory on Twitter

To find out how you can help Mamie’s Poppy Plates or sponsor a plate go to mamiespoppyplates.com

if Harper didn’t make it, but my babies’ birthday was as perfect as it could be. I had no idea what to expect. My nurse took such incredible care of us, and made sure that she created keepsakes of Harper for us. One of the things she gave me was a pamphlet about Mamie’s Poppy Plates. The nurse explained that she would take Harper’s handprints so that I would have them on a plate. Because I hadn’t let myself prepare for the worst, this was the first time I had heard about the organization. Now I understand how very important their mission is.

My poppy plate is among my most cherished possessions. You see, I will never get to monogram Harper’s backpacks, or fill out her name on her kindergarten registration. I won’t sit at her softball games and cheer her name so loudly that it embarrasses her a little bit. I don’t have pictures she’s drawn for me, or memories we’ve made together. In fact, most people don’t know a lot about my daughter. They don’t know that she kicked every single time I ate chocolate and every time her daddy prayed for her with his hand on my belly. Most people won’t recognize me as her mommy. But, every single time I get to speak about her, or see her name, it gives her life again—even for a brief moment. I have held on to every card, gift tag, and note sent to me with

her name on it. These are proof that she was a living, breathing piece of our hearts. Seeing her handprints on our poppy plate is a testament to her short but impactful life. It’s like my badge of honor—a reminder that I am Harper’s mommy.

I know that without it, I would forever regret the fact that I didn’t think to prepare or create a momento of my own.

We have been so blessed by the mission of Mamie’s Poppy Plates that we’ve done our best to help other families receive this gift in the midst of their grief. Every year, on the anniversary of Harper’s celebration service, we participate in a day of giving, and coordinate a luncheon at our church to benefit Mamie’s Poppy Plates.

Because of the generosity of our church family, we have been able to sponsor hospitals in Harper’s name and continue her legacy by helping others. Being able to do so has been such a big help in navigating our grief during the last five years. Every single time Harper’s name is on a plate for a grieving family, it gives her brief life purpose again. We are so very thankful to this organization, not only for the priceless gift we received after Harper’s passing, but for the opportunity to help others in their time of grief, as they did for us five years ago.

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peekaboonwa.com

19

By: Rhonda Franz

“Everyone should have a bike.”

Everyone should have a bike.

This is the philosophy behind Pedal it Forward in Northwest Arkansas, an organization with the mission of serving the community by providing bicycles to children and adults in need. This summer, in cooperation with First Security Bank, they are hosting a bike drive to make it especially easy for people to donate during the summer with drop-off locations. Since my family had a couple of extra bicycles residing in our backyard shed, my boys and I crammed them into our minivan and took them with us to the organization’s Rogers warehouse, inconspicuously tucked beside the city’s activity center.

To step inside is to get a feel for the mission in action. This workshop is decorated with the bright purples and pinks and yellows and rugged tires of large and small bicycles: hundreds lined up ready and waiting for assessment, for repair or for donation to someone who might not otherwise be able to afford one. My children and I took an informal tour, distracted and a bit overwhelmed by the colors of so many bicycles.

One wall of the warehouse is lined with bins of bike parts, pieces and tubes. Pegboard work benches hold most of the tools needed to bring donated bicycles to good condition.

Repair stations allow easy access for volunteers who are trained, apprenticestyle, to fix or replace broken and 20 July 2019

dilapidated chains and flat tires. Pedal It Forward most needs the time and hands of volunteers who can commit to sticking around for a while, not just a day or two, and adequately learn the skills of bike repair: skills the experienced volunteers are more than willing to teach.

Indeed, the whole space is indicative of a professional shop, minus the expectation of profit. Bikes are not sold, only donated. Sometimes this happens directly, but more often, it comes through collaboration with other community organizations.

When I spoke with David Tovey, co-founder of Pedal It Forward, he reminisced about spending summer days as a child on his bicycle, and the adventures that came along for the ride. We both talked about our memories of pedaling around our respective neighborhoods with friends, as well as the changes and growth in this region of Arkansas that have led to more bike trails and paths, in turn creating more opportunities to experience this everyday fun and physical activity. He doesn’t want anyone to be without these memories. Tovey is not talking about competition and racing, or hardcore cycling, but rather the joy that comes with getting on a bike and taking off.

When Tovey created Pedal It Forward with other cyclists in 2014, they had no model for this mission; they still do not. They simply shared common excitement and a desire to get something started. That start won’t be

Pedal it Forward seeing a finish line anytime soon. Since then, over have set up processes within their programs for two thousand bikes have been donated, fueling a recipients to earn a bike through educational desire to triple the 600 that currently come in each projects, and/or work, a process that encourages year. putting an effort toward One of the neatest things completion, with the about Pedal It Forward end result being bicycle is the partnerships that ownership. help identify people in the After my tour and our area who could use a bike. conversation, Tovey Working with organizations and I hauled the two like Sharing is Caring, the bikes out of the van.

Boys and Girls Club and Each one will go 7 Hills Homeless Shelter through an organized has made it possible to Want to help? process, built up over efficiently distribute to time via trial and error. people identified as being Both will go through a in need, so the volunteers Gently used bikes of all sizes or new helmets triage, where needs are gathering and repairing Financial gifts of any amount at any assessed. Each bicycle First Security Bank or at pedalitforward.org bicycles can effectively keep will be in a line for on supporting the repair the appropriate repair, process. and eventually end up DROP OFF LOCATIONS: “Our concentration is the tagged on the other • Any First Security Bank • Pedal It Forward supply chain,” says Tovey, side of the warehouse 3902 NW Wishing Spring Road, Bentonville 315 West Olive Street, Rogers whose enthusiasm about for the right owner, getting bikes distributed whose adventure is is evident as he shows us about to begin. around the facility.

Pedal it Forward and First Security Bank are He is encouraged by programs designed by making donations convenient. The bike drive is some of those partners, schools included, who happening now: June and July 2019.

Summer

BIKE DRIVE

Pedal It Forward NWA works to give bicycles to those who can’t afford them in Northwest Arkansas, and First Security is excited to join them in their mission of giving!

Member FDIC

About Rhonda: Rhonda writes and raises three lively boys with her husband in the woods outside of Springdale. She enjoys creating and editing content for publications, sharing other people’s stories, and telling true tales of parenting and pilot wife life at CaptainMom.net. https://captainmom.net/ She maintains a dubious “cool” status by occasionally working on freelance projects from the back of her base model minivan in parking lots all over Northwest Arkansas

by: Ashley Muse Elder has always had a hard time seeing. As a baby, we would often notice him using his hands to navigate and locate things instead of using his eyes. By the age of 5, he had seen several ophthalmologists and vision specialists and, no matter what we tried, it seemed like nothing was helping. All the doctors we saw were stumped as to why his glasses weren’t able to help his vision impairment. So, by the time we were walking into our appointment at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, I was more than ready for answers. I was glad that we might finally be able to get to the root of the problem, and hopefully help him see the world better.

22 July 2019

Looking back now, I can see that maybe I was naive, or overly optimistic... I’m not sure which one. What I am sure of is that I did not expect to hear the news we got that day. I still remember the way I felt... like butterflies in my stomach, but mean, angry butterflies. People use the saying “my heart sank,” and I can relate to that feeling. I literally felt my heart beating in my stomach as I tried to listen to the doctor. I can remember telling myself, “Calm down, stay focused, you have to listen to him, you have to keep it together.” The first words I remember grabbing on to were: “Elder has a rare genetic disorder that is causing his vision loss. It seems to be aggressive, and, currently, there is no

treatment available.” I remember how hard it was to hear those words, and to try to hold a normal conversation with the doctor. Pulling words together was difficult, but I was able to ask, “Will it result in total blindness?” The doctor took a breath as if he was going to say something, but instead closed his mouth and just nodded his head to signal ‘yes’. The only other question I could form was, “Shat do we do now?” That answer wasn’t as clear as the one before it, because the short answer is... there just isn’t much to do. In fact, NOT having something “to do” about this is one of the hardest parts of our journey for me. As a mother, I want to fix it, fight it or treat it, but that is not an option for me. The doctor gave me one more wave of life-changing information to deal with that day before we left: “Since it is a genetic disorder, some of your other children could also be affected.” I knew at that moment that I would be watching two of my babies go blind. My three-year-old, Magnolia, had just failed her first vision test. She had been tripping over things, and getting lost in dimly lit rooms. I told myself that maybe she just needed glasses, and everyone else told me to think positive, that she may not have it. But I knew from that first appointment that she did. My mind was replaying all of the signs that I had seen in her that reminded me of Elder, and I just knew.

I kept it together that day, on the outside. Inside, however, my mind was a never-ending loop, saying, “Don’t cry, be strong, don’t cry, be strong,” and, on one level, I was. I drove the long drive back home with my mom, and we talked about how lucky we were that he is healthy in every other way, and that there are so many advancements these days.

We talked about all the reasons that everything would be just fine. Intellectually, I knew that that was the truth, but emotionally I was devastated. I got home and tucked in the kids for the night, and then the quiet set in. The fear crept in, and brought with it all the sadness. The flood of emotions that had been simmering all day was now boiling over.

I had so many questions, and no answers. How long do they have before their world goes dark?

They are little, and afraid of the dark. Will they remember my face and what I look like when they can no longer see me? How in the world am I going to handle life with two blind children? Magnolia is so beautiful. Will she know how beautiful she is? The flood of sadness continued, “They won’t be able to see me looking at them with pride and love as they grow and do amazing things.” Will I be able to make them feel that love without vision? Will I be able to do this? Can I be the eyes for two more people, and do it in a way that is good enough for these sweet children who have barely begun to experience what this beautiful and scary world is all about?

Continued...

Summer

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23

Hospital and have been told that my children’s case is one of the most aggressive they have ever seen in children so young. So, our challenges are unique and our path is not well-worn. The fear of never knowing what level of vision of they are working with when they wake up in the morning is always there. I worry that one day, one of them will wake up, and they will be in the dark. I hope that doesn’t happen for a very long time, but I just don’t know. I hope that the disease stops and rests for a while, and that they maintain some of their vision till adulthood, but,so far they still show active decline every time we get checked.

I allowed myself to feel all the sadness and loss and anger of my situation that night, because I knew that when the sun came up the next day, my job was to be strong and capable and figure this out, step by step. But that night, for that moment, I was devastated at the thought of what was going to be slowly taken from them and, honestly, I was sad for myself, too. Selfish as it may be, I had to allow myself to mourn for the motherhood I thought I was going to have.

I had to take a second to accept the fact that I will likely always be a caregiver, and they will always need me to be there for them more than most children. And so I cried, for them, for all that they would miss, and the hard journey they had ahead of them. And I cried for me, because I knew that watching them slowly lose their connection to the world was going to break my heart over and over again.

The next day, I woke up and put the sad behind me. I simply didn’t have time for a pity party, because there was work to do. I had so much to learn about how to best help them operate in their changing world. I had to find people to connect with, and organizations to help me be prepared for our impending challenges. The more I learn, the less afraid I am of our new life. I have connected with many blind adults that have been able to lead fantastic and fulfilling lives.

I have found some groundbreaking medical research that might someday cure blindness.

I actively spend my days looking for hope and searching for information that can answer some of those very scary questions. I also found that there aren’t many services for blind children, because most blind people are adults. I learned that for my children to be born sighted and then be losing their sight so rapidly was even more rare. We have made several trips to the Children’s 24 July 2019

Elder currently has about 10% of his vision left, and Magnolia has about 40%. Every day we fight new battles. We deal with lots and lots of injuries and embarrassing moments. As their eyes, I am always trying to warn them of every curb, or step, or dog approaching, but I fail, over and over, I fail, because being the eyes for three people and doing it flawlessly will take time, and I have to give myself time to adjust to our life, too. They both have completely lost their night vision, so darkness is hard, and sometimes they panic, but I hope they will get used to it. We are working on learning Braille and navigating with a cane. We are trying different sports and music lessons. We are looking for every way we can to make our lives feel as normal and triumphant as possible Our lives are harder than other kids’ lives at times, but we live by the mantra, “We can do hard things”. Because we can... we all can do hard things when we must. These two children have taught me that lesson well. They amaze me all the time with the ways they adapt and the things they can do without vision. They remind me daily that sometimes life can be hard, but it’s okay, because we can do hard things together.

We encourage anyone who has vision-impaired children, or is a visually impaired adult, to reach out. We have had a hard time finding local support networks for blind children, and would love to hear from anyone who knows of connections we can make in our own community.

You can follow Elder and Magnolia’s story on Facebook at 2blindmuses Elder and Magnolia have a rare aggressive form of genetic retinal dystrophy. They are currently undergoing testing at UAMS genetics department to try to get more information about their specific disorder.

We are hopeful that the future may hold a cure for them.

Rogers Explorers

Two programs a month June & July Rogers Historical Museum

peekaboonwa.com

25

KEEP COOL AND SAFE this Summer!

by: Rhonda Wotowis

Executive Director, Kendrick Fincher Hydration for Life

It’s summertime, and the weather is hot! Proper hydration is essential all the time to keep our bodies and brains functioning at their best, and it becomes even more critical when the weather is hot, or you have been sweating. At Kendrick Fincher Hydration for Life, our mission is to promote proper hydration and prevent heat stroke through education and supporting activities.

Heat illness is a risk, especially when the weather is consistently hot. Proper hydration is a great insulator from heat illness, so let’s start there: WHY DRINK WATER? Your body needs water because 75% of the body (a percentage that decreases as we age), 80% of the brain, 75% of the muscles, 22% of the bones, and 92% of the blood are made up of water! Everything functions better when it is hydrated.

If you are dehydrated, you are more likely to have poor concentration, irritability, and headaches.

Long-term effects of being dehydrated include kidney and urinary tract infections, constipation, continence problems, and kidney stones.

If you are well-hydrated, exercise feels easier and is more enjoyable.

Recommended quantities of fluid for children range from 50 ounces for a five-year-old to 60 ounces for a ten-year-old. See your doctor for liquid requirements for your children under five years old. The minimum fluid intake recommended for adults or children over 100 pounds is your weight divided by two. For example, if you are 150 pounds, you will need 75 ounces of liquid each day... plus MORE if you are sweating!

Water carries nutrients and oxygen to all cells in the body, and helps convert food into energy.

A good way to monitor you or your children’s hydration status is to notice the frequency and Water regulates body temperature—which is color of urine. A healthy person should need critical in the heat! to urinate every two to four hours, and your 1% dehydration results in thirst. There is a 10% urine should be the color of lemonade or lighter. decrease in mental performance when you are If it looks like apple juice, you are dehydrated. thirsty.

Remember to drink often throughout the day. You 2% dehydration diminishes the ability to work. do not feel thirsty until you are 1% dehydrated, and 4% dehydration results in lethargy, apathy, and your ability to concentrate will already be affected. mental symptoms.

MAKE HEALTHY DRINK CHOICES: Choose the right beverage! Water is the best source of hydration for your body. When you choose other beverages to drink, read the label and choose beverages that are low in sugar content.

Sports drinks are good if you have been playing or exercising strenuously for more than one hour, because they help replace the electrolytes you lose through sweating. Milk and 100% juice can be part of a healthy diet, but they also contain calories, which should be considered when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight.

It is always better to eat your fruit than drink your fruit, so, if you have a choice between an apple or orange and the juice, choose the fruit for the added fiber.

STAY SAFE IN THE HEAT: Always hydrate before, during and after strenuous activity. Proper hydration will help you perform at your best and protect you from feeling dehydration’s serious side effects.

BEFORE gives you a head start to help you be at your best.

DURING gives you the energy to keep going AFTER helps you replace the fluids your body loses in sweat that are vital to your body’s recovery.

Heat-related illnesses are some of the most common problems for youth playing in the heat, and people working or playing outdoors.

These conditions can be dangerous, or even fatal in some cases. Heat-induced illness is one of the most preventable sports injuries, and has three separate degrees of severity: heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and, the most serious and deadly form, heat stroke.

DEHYDRATION AND HEAT ILLNESS WARNING SIGNS: + NAUSEA + HEADACHE + WEAKNESS + FAINTING + POOR CONCENTRATION + FLUSHED SKIN + LIGHT HEADEDNESS + LOSS OF MUSCLE COORDINATION + FATIGUE + VOMITING LET’S TALK ABOUT HOW YOU CAN PREVENT HEAT ILLNESS. BE PROPERLY HYDRATED: Proper hydration is essential to heat illness prevention.

See above tips!

BE ACCLIMATED TO YOUR ENVIRONMENT: Acclimation to the heat is an important factor in preventing heat illness. The rate of acclimation for children is slower than adults. This is important to consider if you are traveling to another part of the country where the weather is cooler or hotter. If cooler, you will be in a safer environment there, but need to be re-acclimated when you return. If you are going to a hotter environment, you may experience heat illness easier.

Acclimation takes 8 to 10 days (45-60 minutes/day) in a new climate to acclimate sufficiently.

During the acclimation process, it’s important to drink adequate amounts of fluid to build blood plasma volumes.

Continued...

Enriching children’s lives by providing high quality care and education in a Christian environment.

Our facility is committed to excellence in childcare. We are currently rated a Level 3 facility in the Better Beginnings quality initiative program.

www.peace-church.org 805 West Olrich St. | Rogers, Arkansas 72756 | 479-621-5683 | arbetterbeginnings.com

When sweat rate increases, it’s important to drink sufficient fluids to replace increased sweat losses and stay hydrated.

Thirst is not always good indicator of fluid needs.

Drink on a schedule and watch urine frequency and color.

PROPER REST: Start with a good night’s sleep!

Parents and coaches should encourage breaks in a shaded area whenever possible. Let your kids run in for that drink to cool down, or bring them popsicles or cool water to rest and rehydrate.

It’s important to be aware of high temperatures and humidity and modify time spent outdoors.

minutes, you need to treat for heat stroke HEAT STROKE:

High body temperature (104 or higher) Individual may be disoriented, vomit, or lose consciousness, and will have shallow breathing.

+ Life threatening emergency – CALL 9-1-1 + Immediately cool in an ice bath/cool pool + Ensure temperature is reduced before transporting Heat illness is progressive and heat stroke can kill, so watch for early signs and symptoms and treat quickly.

If you or your child is in sports, competitive rules need to be relaxed during hot weather playing conditions.

Practices and outdoor activities must be modified based on conditions. Add rest breaks to lower core temperature, and provide ample time to rehydrate.

DRESS CODE: Wear clothing that is light-colored, which will absorb less heat from the sun.

Lightweight, loose-fitting materials help to facilitate the evaporation of sweat.

If prevention of heat illness hasn’t happened, here are heat illness treatment options:

Upcoming Events:

July 15

Beat the Heat Summer Swing Springdale Country Club

HEAT CRAMPS + Stop activity, because heat illness is progressive + Rest in a cool spot + Replenish with fluids containing sodium

August 1

Heat Fest The Grove, Lowell

HEAT EXHAUSTION:

Symptoms include fatigue, light-headedness, a rapid pulse, and NAUSEA

+ Stop activity + Rest in a cool spot + Apply cool, wet towels + Replenish with fluids containing sodium + Monitor! If you don’t get better within 30

August 17

A Cool Summer Homecoming Fayetteville Town Center

For more information, please visit our website at kendrickfincher.org Presentations are available for groups of all ages.

28 July 2019

Ju

ly

6 to 10 pm • 20

Tickets available at bgozarks.org PRESENTING MEDIA SPONSOR

PRESENTING BROADCASTING SPONSOR

ARKANSAS BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD ARKANSAS RICE ARVEST BANK

welcome,

Grant Gaines, MD Dr. Grant Gaines is a welcome addition to the pediatric care team at Northwest Arkansas Pediatrics in Fayetteville and Pinnacle Hills.

Schedule your child’s wellness exam or acute care appointment with Dr. Gaines by using the myMANA Health Portal or by calling (479) 442-7322. wellness care / acute care / newborn care / adolescent care walk-in clinic / immunizations / ask the nurse

nwapediatrics.com

PINNACLE HILLS

FAYETTEVILLE

FAYETTEVILLE

Wellness Clinic & Acute Care & Walk-in Clinic

Wellness Clinic

Acute Care & Walk-in Clinic

3730 S. Pinnacle Hills Pkwy Rogers | 479.464.5597 Monday-Friday, 8am-5:30pm

3383 N. MANA Ct., Suite 101 Fayetteville | 479.443.3471 Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm

3380 N. Futrall Drive Fayetteville | 479.442.7322 Monday-Friday, 8am-7:30pm Saturday, 8am-11am

JULY2019 Library Story Times: Bentonville Public Library: bentonvillelibrary.org Fayetteville Public Library: faylib.org Springdale Public Library: springdalelibrary.org Rogers Public Library: rogerspubliclibrary.org

FourthFest, Centerton First Baptist Church, Centerton Inflatables, games, fireworks. Free food while it lasts.

7-9:30pm

July 5 Celebrate Prairie Grove Rieff Park The City Aquatic Park will be open, free to the public from 7-9pm Fireworks at 9:15pm

Siloam Springs Library: siloamsprings.com

Firework Displays

July 2

Naturals Game - Post-Game Fireworks Arvest Ball Park Red, White and Blooms Concert Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, Fayetteville 7-9pm

July 3 Naturals Game - Post-Game Fireworks Arvest Ball Park Independence Day Fireworks Display, Bella Vista The Dam at Loch Lomond 5-10pm

July 4 Naturals Game - Post-Game Fireworks Arvest Ballpark An Evening at Orchards Park Orchards Park, Bentonville Music at 7pm and fireworks at 9pm 4th of July Spectacular Walmart AMP Concert by the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas at 7:30pm Fireworks at 9:15pm www.amptickets.com City of Farmington Fireworks Near the football stadium on Rheas Mill Rd. Fireworks start at dark

July 3

Events

Skyspace Nights » Star Party 8pm Crystal Bridges Spend a summer evening outdoors gazing at the stars and enjoying the night sky! Each Star Party will begin at sunset with a special talk inside James Turrell’s Skyspace: The Way of Color, followed by a chance to look through telescopes, chat with astronomers, and engage with activities inspired by the night sky.

July 5

5th Annual Run Your Town 6:30pm Splash Park at Lawrence Plaza A free and fun social run/scavenger hunt around the Square.

Bring your running buddies, friends, kids and dogs. No set distance--not even a set course. Clues will be given the day of the event. Then, do your best to find them and post group photos to social media for everyone to see how much fun running in our town can be. Donations will be accepted for the Brave Like Gabe Foundation. #runyourtownbentonville #bravelikegabe

July 6

Kids’ Storytime with Two Friends 10am Two Friends Books · Bentonville Join us every Saturday at 10am for story time at Airship Coffee.

Kids of all ages welcome, though books will most frequently be appropriate for ages 2-8.

July 7

Summer Fun Play Day! 12pm Terra Studios, Fayetteville Summer is the time for outdoor activities and creative fun with friends. Join us for an afternoon of live music, funky art, music and flow workshops, yoga, magic, and more! The goal is to get people moving and grooving and exploring new arts.

Siloam Springs’ Fire in the Sky Independence Day Celebration Siloam Springs Municipal Airport Parachutists, concessions, fireworks and more.

Fireworks at 9:15pm

July 10

106th Annual Gentry Freedom Fest Gentry City Park Family fun and food starting at noon Live entertainment at 7:30pm Fireworks at 9pm

July 12-14

Coding and Robotics 10-6pm Kindness and Joy Toys, Fayetteville

Bentonville Trade Days Benton County Fair Grouds Bentonville Trade Days is the most unique shopping event in Ar-

kansas! One weekend a month at the Benton County Fairgrounds you’ll find dozens of vendors, great food, and fun for the entire family!

July 17

Soccer with Kids 4pm First United Methodist Church, Bentonville We have so many talented youth soccer players! We want to share the knowledge with the kiddos who may want to learn a little about soccer, teamwork, and just have some fun.

We will have kids ages 3-10 divided into age groups. We will also have coloring and snacks inside.

July 19-21

Amberlee’s Christmas in July Toy Drive Johnson Benefiting Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Food, raffle tickets for gift baskets, games, and a toy drive for the kids at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Northwest.

July 20

Yarnell’s Ice Cream Festival 9am Bentonville Farmer’s Market - Downtown Bentonville There is a total of 4 competitions, two for adults and two for the kiddos. The participant who can devour the most in FIVE minutes will win a year’s supply of ice cream. Each competition happens on the hour from 9am to 12pm. To sign up, just head over to the Yarnell’s booth on the corner of 2nd and Main.

Festivalgoers can get a picture with Scoop, the Yarnell’s Ice Cream mascot, and receive FREE samples of Yarnell’s Ice Cream until noon (or while supplies last), so be sure to get there early!

Firefly Fling Botanical Garden of the Ozarks Dust off your fairy wings – one of Northwest Arkansas’ most anticipated midsummer events is back. Thousands of families from Northwest Arkansas and beyond gather at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks each year for the Firefly Fling Family Festival.

Cops and Cones 1pm Burton’s Creamery Officers from the Fayetteville Police Department will be serving ice cream cones and hanging out with the kiddos and parents.

This event is free and is a great way to meet officers in your

community.

NWA! Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course!

8am Shiloh Christian School · Springdale Youth Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course Event! This awesome course will feature a start-to-finish run with 10 ninja warriorstyle obstacles. All kids will receive a medal and a wristband! Get registered today for only $20. Prices increase soon.

July 23

Birth on Tap (for Dads and Partners) 6pm Bike Rack Brewing Co. Bentonville Baby on the way? Join us for a fun partners-only class at Bike Rack Brewing’s 8th Street Market BREW ROOM in Bentonville.

Enjoy a local craft brew and get real with your questions about birth, babies, and postpartum. You’ll leave feeling more prepared to support your partner through labor and learn the basics on how to care for a newborn. Hear from dads and birth partners who have been there and done that, with occasional guest visits from other medical professionals. Pricing: $10 per attendee.

Ticket includes: 2-hour interactive class taught by Northwest Medical Center – Bentonville L&D nurse, and a question-andanswer panel of advice from experienced parents/birth partners.

One beer/non-alcoholic beverage from Bike Rack Taproom.

July 24 Wet n’ Wild Reading 5:30pm C.L. “charlie” and Willie George Park · Springdale Meet us at the Splash Pad at Willie George Park to exchange your books, see friends, & have fun!

July 29-Aug 2

Apple Seeds Summer Cooking Camp Apple Seeds Teaching Farm - Fayetteville Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers Join us for The Kids’ Table, a week of half-day summer camps at the Apple Seeds Teaching Farm. Campers will spend the week at the Teaching Farm gardening, harvesting fresh ingredients from our gardens, and making a garden-fresh lunch inside our Teaching Kitchen. A healthy morning snack will be provided each day for campers, along with a full lunch that campers will prepare themselves. The Kids’ Table is for children ages 7-15 years old.

peekaboonwa.com

33

LO O K A N D F E E L

YO U R B E S T At Women’s Health Associates, we want you to feel confident about every aspect of your life, including how you look. That’s why we offer a number of aesthetic services designed to help you be your best self at every stage of your life.

FA C I A L S Designed to help you put your best face forward, let us help you discover a more beautiful and youthful-looking you. All facials include an in-depth skin analysis, cleansing and exfoliation of the neck, face, and décolleté.

Also Offering: Dermaplaning | Microneedling | Chemical Peels | Microdermabrasion

I N J E C TA B L E S A N D D E R M A L F I L L E R S As we age, our faces naturally lose subcutaneous fat and the “plump” look of our youth. Injectables and dermal fillers can be used to help diminish facial lines and restore volume and fullness in the face. Plump thin lips, enhance shallow contours, soften facial creases and wrinkles, and improve the appearance of recessed scars.

Offering: BOTOX® Cosmetic | JUVEDERM®

I N T I M AT E W E L L N E S S CO2RE Intima vaginal treatments help restore your vaginal health… and help you rediscover what you’ve lost. The procedure only takes a few minutes and many women report symptom relief after the very first treatment. The treatments use laser energy to stimulate healing and renewed collagen that results in increased elasticity and natural lubrication, decreased urine leakage, and more pleasurable sex.

B O DY C O N T O U R I N G Love the idea of reshaping your body, but not the reality of incisions or scars? Our non-invasive procedures don’t require any incisions and deliver noticeable results. The treatments work to improve the appearance of cellulite, reduce dimpled skin, and tighten skin on the abdomen, love handles, hips, thighs and other areas that require fat reduction. BodyFX addresses problematic fatty tissue in larger body areas such as the abdomen, back (flanks), and thighs. MiniFX addresses problematic fatty tissue in smaller areas like the neck, arms, and knees. Forma tightens the skin on the face, neck and hands.

Also offering: Photo facials with Lumecca | Laser Hair Removal | Waxing Spider Vein Treatment

500 SE PLAZA AVENUE BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS

479-876-8111 www.whanwa.com 34 July 2019

Your Summer Playcation Destination!

The Scott Family Amazeum is your destination for family fun this summer.

Explore hands-on, interactive experiences and discover the connections between science, technology, engineering, art and math that make every day amazing.

amazeum.org

I-49 Exit 88 E Central Ave. | 1009 Museum Way | Bentonville, AR | 479-696-9280 The Amazeum is open every day except Tuesdays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day from 10 am to 5 pm - Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm.

Riding Your River of Grief August 24, 2019 PARENTS

LEFT BEHIND by: Susan Averitt

There are few things in this world that generate the force of a roaring river. Rivers have one thing in mind: to flow toward another body of water. A river doesn’t feel, or see, or listen to the occupants of its waters. It just flows on, sometimes terrifyingly, other times more gently, as the waters make their way toward the sea.

Grief is a journey. And, like a river, it washes over the wounded with a harsh, cold and isolating rush.

When we lose someone, it’s like we are suddenly separated, not only from the one we lost, but from the world we have known. We no longer have our firm foundation on which to stand. We can’t breathe, we can’t see, we can’t walk through life in the same way. We feel as if we can’t get back to dry land, and wonder if we ever will.

Losing a child took away more from me than just my child. It took away everything I thought I knew about the world, and pushed me, flailing, into a lonely river. I had to relearn how to exist in a world that did not include my daughter. I had to develop new survival skills. I had to find a way to accept the journey I was on, or this river would have overtaken me. I couldn’t imagine life without my child here with me, and yet, that was the new normal thrust upon me.

I didn’t choose to be a mother who lost her child.

If given a choice, I would have chosen every other pathway than the one that ended in my child being gone. I would have done anything to keep her here, for her to live her life and grow to be the beautiful woman she would have become. I never dreamed I would lose the chance to be with her every day until my time on earth was done.

36 July 2019

When my daughter died, I felt so alone. It wasn’t true that I was the only parent who had ever lost a precious child, but it sure seemed that way.

People who weren’t in my shoes simply could not comprehend my pain. They thought that this grief was something to get through, or get over. They seemed to believe that somehow I would come out on the other side and still be myself. But this grief wasn’t like that. It was permanent. The aftermath of losing a child has not been a time in my life to go through, but is a part of who I am forever. So, I began my journey of grief the day I was pushed into those waters. And it is on that journey, in that river, where I remain.

After several years of bereavement, I learned new skills and met new travelers along my journey. I met other bereaved parents who actually were in my boat. I found myself wanting to reach out and spend time with others ahead of me and behind me in this river. I began working on some ideas of creating a community of grievers who could come together to support and learn from one another. It helps a little just knowing there are other survivors.

It helps to have an understanding ear to listen and hand to hold.

Five years ago, I started the organization Parents Left Behind. Each year we have a free event that brings together parents and support persons who are grieving the loss of a child. This may be a newborn or unborn child, or one who lived into adulthood but died too soon. Some of the parents who attend our event have been bereaved for years. Other attendees have suffered their loss very recently. We have something for all of these parents. We have breakout sessions to teach about

Parents Left Behind 2019

Riding your river of Grief August 24, 2019 | 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Central United Methodist Church, Fayetteville AR Facebook—Parents Left Behind

www.parentsleftbehind.org grief and the new normal of living without a child. We talk about guilt, about losing faith, about finding support, and about hope for our future. We share our stories. We meet fellow grievers. We find common ground.

If you are a bereaved parent, grandparent, family member, friend or support person, please join us on August 24 at Central United Methodist Church in Fayetteville. Registration is available online through our Facebook page or website.

There you can find more information and details. The event is free to participants.

davidadams.com

100 West Center, Ste 101 Fayetteville 479-444-7778

S

The Ta o - of Cinnam on Ro lls

o, we bought this new coffee maker for the office. It’s a pretty basic twelve-cupper that will dispense hot, tasty go-go juice to us each morning. While opening the packaging, I found an oddly large instruction manual – not dissimilar in size to the manual for my daughter’s car (note to Ford – your 2010 Fusion manual has 188 pages, and yet does not include a section on how to change the clock on the radio – Walmartians call that a COE). The size of the caffeine manual seemed out of place, as did some of the directions, such as “Remove Styrofoam before use,” “Machine must be plugged in to power source to operate” and “Caution: After brewing, contents will be extremely hot.” All of these tell me two things; common sense does not rule this galaxy, and the coffee maker corporate attorneys have been very, very busy. But, on the other hand, the basics have to be there, since, as I always tell my wife when dealing with inaugural kid adventures, “Sometime has to be the first time.”

The colossal coffee maker procedures came up recently at home as well. In order to stop, or at least reduce the hours, at our second jobs as maître d’ and chef of the house, the Mrs. and I set forth a serious DIY (Do It Yourself) campaign this summer. Starting off with frozen pizza (and yes, you folks with one clean-eating, low-carb, highkale kid can move along now; have 3+ offspring, then come talk to me) we quickly understood the need for detailed instruction. One of our kids texted (15 times, ugh) about the lack of sustenance in the2019 casa.

38 July

Our response was, “Make a frozen pizza,” which this child did for the first time ever by following the directions on the back of the frigid pie. #1 Preheat oven. #2 Place pizza on center oven rack. #3 Bake 16-18 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Now, before I go on, does anyone see the potential issue with these instructions? Yup, they didn’t instruct the child (an A/B honor roll student) to remove the cardboard on the bottom, or the plastic on the top of the pizza… #1 Yup, it was a mess. #2 Nope, he didn’t eat it. #3

Yup, attorney friends, here is an opportunity to update the directions on the back of the pizza box and get some quick cash.

On the heels of the plastic pizza party, we had another even more tragic instructional fail. I’ll be brief in order to show respect for those no longer with us, but I will say that throwing some tropical fish into a bowl of tap water does not produce the desired results.

We accidentally solved our instructional issues via some serious higher education. Last week, we took our daughter to college orientation (gulp, gasp) and, during one of the sessions, we were instructed, and entertained, by a philosophy professor who is also the head of the Honors Program. Hey, we needed serious help! She talked about the misunderstanding and misadventures of learning.

The educator compared education to dinner.

this would be like an open discussion where the teacher leads and guides the conversation, but the students are responsible for providing views and content.

So, armed with way more education than necessary, we set out to teach one of our children a seriously important life task: how to make canned cinnamon rolls. Taking philosophical cues from the philosophy professor, we worked together, with One way to have dinner is at a restaurant. I tell you the help of some decent instructions, to achieve what I have, you decide what you want, I hand it to the best results. Best results, meaning the kid can you, you consume it, then give me my plate back. make his own freaking breakfast and not wake us This is similar to selecting a class, taking notes up at 6:00am on a Saturday. during the class, then taking a test and giving the All of this educational direction reminds me of teacher back the same information she gave you. something my teachers used to do during grade Another way to receive dinner is at a buffet. I tell school - mostly on Fridays, or during May, when you what we have, and you go get it. Kind of like a everyone was toast. In any event, did any of you teacher telling you to write a report on Shakespeare, ever have “show and tell”? You would bring your then telling you to go find the information. new Barbie or Tie Fighter to “show” the class and “tell” about it. I guess that’s what the philosophy The final dining option discussed was inclusion and prof was teaching us - that we should show our collaboration. Meaning, we get the ingredients, we kids how to do things, and not tell them. Sound put together the dinner, we eat together and share advice... so, can I get my tuition fees back now? in the endeavor. From an education point-of-view,

MOM HACKS

from NWA Moms In the Know Instagram: @nwa.moms.inthe.know

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ake a daybed and turn the opening toward the wall for a good toddler bed. Your kid can climb in and out, but not fall out. Then, they have a nice daybed when they are older!

- Jessica Richter

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hen my boys were little, I would play hide-and-seek with a stuffed animal/ item. My boys would count to twenty, I’d hide it, and they loved trying to find it. - Evette McElroy

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hen I had my baby, my mom told me to put Asafoetida on my baby’s belly button. A pinch of Asafoetida dissolved in few drops of water on a baby’s belly button is the safest thing for gastric problems in a baby. Sumedha Singh

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erfect amount of water-to-rice ratio trick: It’s simple.

Pour the rice into the pan you’re going to cook it in. Level it out and place your index finger so that it is touching the surface of the rice. Add enough water so that it comes up to your first knuckle — I usually use the crease on the palm-side of my finger. - Savannah Maria We carried a potty chair with us on long road trips for our little ones, for when finding a bathroom to stop at wasn’t always easy.

- Jessica Scott **Also, add a pull up to the bottom of the potty chair bowl for easy clean up. - Alycia Yochum

Always have a designated puke bucket and washcloths for upset tummies.

- Kara Glenn Woody

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rozen Capri Suns for pool or beach time!

- Lacie Moore

try to store the bulk of my kids’ toys in big bins. We rotate the bins, so they get excited about old toys again, because they may not have played with them in the last week. Giulia Formby

Facebook: NWA Moms in the Know

ood tip for littles: drops of plain yogurt frozen into bite size pieces. Good for teething, baby-led feeding, and getting good fats/probiotics. ravel tip: baby-wearing through security and boarding the plane. Easier than corralling littles. - Suzy Cue

ake baby wipes everywhere, even after they’re out of diapers. Whether it’s a cupcake mess at a birthday party, dirt at the park, or grabbing one of the free bananas at the store... you’ll need them! - Laura Katherine

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n long trips, take a small bucket with over-the-counter medicines like Tylenol, cough syrup, allergy pills, etc. You never know when you will need them, and it will save money. -Jeanine Roberts Matlock Keep socks in the car, just in case You go skating or bowling. Also, keep blankets in the car for fun on-thego picnics. - Maria Langrell Davis

Topical Lidocaine

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n juice boxes, lifting the “wings” up on the outside of the box gives your child a place to hold the juice box without squeezing it. -Ashley Huck Herrington

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Kathy Harris Rogers

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eggies in strawberry shakes so they get their greens. - Isabel Flores

e have a bag with swimsuits and towels in the car during summer time for any spur-of-themoment splash pad or creek trip. - Beth Bennett

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he hard and fast rule: if you take something into the car, you take it out when you leave the car.

- Mary Zimmerman Bath color tabs for kids that don’t like to take a bath. They love making different color combinations.

- Sarah Weber Kindred

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pray hand sanitizer and sunscreen sticks.

- Sara Smith

he person who came up with the “put your chocolate into a reused broccoli bag” (to hide it) is my hero. That’s one of my faves!

- Stephanie Pincince

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ld safety pin to fix drawstrings trick. Got a preteen loving the sporty look, but all her drawstrings seem to come out in the wash? Use an old safety pin! - Savannah Maria

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se a Yeti (or anything that is similar)and fill it with hot water to use as a bottle warmer when you are on the go doing errands. - Stephanie Nichols

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se a shoe organizer to plan out your kids’ outfits for the week. We have one in both boys’ closets, and on Sunday we fill each spot with an outfit! Makes the weekday mornings so much easier! - Cassie Ross

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f your kids like Play-doh, buy one of those cheap 99-cent vinyl table cloths. Let them play with the Play-doh on that. When they’re all done, and you’ve put the Play-doh and toys away, just wrap up the table cloth with all the annoying little doh crumbs and throw away! Also, if your baby is into taking their jammies and diapers off at bedtime, like mine, put their jammies on backward, and only twist the feet part around the right way.

- Karissa Flanagan Smallwood Everyone grows more when they sleep... or so I tell my kids! Telling them that they grow so much bigger when they nap helped with my boys'’ nap time.

- Nicole Ketner

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hem travelling, pack entire outfits in Ziploc bags. Nothing gets lost or mixed up, and family can help you dress kiddos! - Lindsay Cartwright Broshears

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elatonin for adjusting faster to jet lag.

- Monica Herrera H

Keep a pair of scissors for cutting pizza!️ It is so fast for cutting up pieces for the littles! - Kary-Sandy Zwart Brunner

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eething babies: put water in pacifier and freeze for a couple hours. Life saver during our teething stage! - Madison Lynn

School boxes with hanging files for each year. My daughter just graduated, and hers began at 3-year-old preschool. I’d keep a few papers, projects, certificates, awards and artwork from each year. Label everything with a label maker. They love to pull them out and look at them each year. - Cindy Upton McCorkle

500 SE Plaza Avenue Bentonville, Arkansas

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Staying Safe in Summer ➽ Five Facts

By Dwain Hebda

The best activities in summer go back generations. Unfortunately, so do the safety hazards of being out in the sun, on or near water, or just having too much time on one’s hands.

“The thing about summertime, I think, is that kids are simply outside more,” said Dr. Whitney Alexander with Ozark Pediatrics in Rogers.

“They’re out, they’re doing things, they’re hiking, and, you know, nature’s rough.

You have to be ready for it.”

Here are five traditional summer activities and Alexander’s best advice on how to manage them safely.

FIREWORKS.

It’s hard to imagine something more synonymous with American summertime than fireworks on the Fourth of July. Yet the evidence is clear: fireworks are accidents waiting to happen. In 2017, 13,000 fireworks-related injuries were reported nationwide, 31 percent affecting hands and fingers; 22 percent the head, face and ears, and 17 percent involving leg injuries.

Of those cases, 36 percent were suffered by individuals 15 and under, and half of all fireworks injuries are experienced by individuals younger than 20, according to the Consumer Protection Safety Commission.

“I don’t generally recommend putting fireworks and kids together,” Alexander said. “It’s much safer to take your family to a fireworks display. Fireworks aren’t wellregulated, so you don’t know what you’re getting, and they misfire all the time.”

HEAD INJURIES.

Kids fill their summer hours riding bikes, skateboards and scooters; in fact, for some, these are their primary mode of transportation. Parents want to be sure to their children are protecting their skulls with the appropriate headgear.

“For bikes and skateboards, I really emphasize helmets. The other body parts are important, but your head is the most important,” she said. Make sure the helmet has the proper size and fit, and choose one to match the activity. A bike or skateboard shop can provide on-premises expertise. You also want to look for the CPSC certification standard, granted by the U.S. Consumer Protection Safety Commission. Then, enforce its proper usage with your child.

“For my kids, even if they’re not on the road or the trail, wearing a helmet every time was a habit they had to get into,” Alexander said. “Helmet or no helmet, if your child wipes out, keep an eye on them for the first few hours.” If they’re not acting as they should after that time, head for the emergency room.

For routine scrapes and cuts, wash with soap and water, add antibiotic ointment and keep the wound covered.

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BUGS.

Playing outdoors is going to attract mosquitoes, chiggers, ticks and other creepy crawlers. Don’t be shy about using bug spray to ward them off.

“Bug spray is safe except for use on tiny infants,” she said. “For kids over 1, it’s definitely worth spraying them down; just don’t get it on their hands.”

Most bug bites will be at their worst in the first 24 to 48 hours, after which time they should subside. If they don’t, seek medical help, especially if they’re painful, oozing or crusty. Infection can be minimized by not scratching them, but try telling that to a six-year-old. “If they get bug bites, put ice on them, or some kind of topical cream or ointment that will help control the itch,” Alexander advised.

Ticks are common in Arkansas, and parents need to be on the lookout for the little blood-suckers every time kids have been out roaming the yard or the Arkansas woods. Check kids during bathtime and, if you find one, deal with it right away.

“Tick-borne illnesses are really dangerous,” she said, “but the tick has to be attached for 24 hours to transmit the bad stuff. There’s really no fancy way to get them off-- just put some alcohol on them and pull them off with tweezers. Parents are always worried about the head staying behind, but that actually doesn’t matter--just get the body, and the head will come out eventually.”

WATER.

It should go without saying, but here it is anyway: No one – especially a child – should be in a canoe, kayak or any other boat without a personal flotation device, or PFD. Any place that sells boats can provide guidance on proper fit.

Even if you never dip a toe in the Buffalo River or your local lake, the risk of drowning is all around you in private swimming pools all over your neighborhood.

“You really want to be aware of where your kids are with regard to water,” Alexander said. “We definitely encourage parents to get kids swimming lessons ASAP, so they know how to swim and to do so at a young age.”

The statistics are horrifying: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports drowning is the leading cause of injury death in U.S. children ages 1 to 4 years, and the third leading cause of unintentional injury death in children and adolescents ages 5 to 19 years. In 2017, drowning killed 1,000 children. A toddler can drown silently in 25 seconds.

Alexander urged parents to install locks on pool gates, and even alarms on household doors to alert when someone goes outside. But that’s not all.

“If you’re at a friend’s house or someplace that’s new, where you don’t know where the doors are or the layout around a pool, you definitely want to make sure you know where your kids are,” she said. “I’ve seen a few kids over the years that have had neardrownings or drownings, and two of them were at a neighbor’s house.”

HEAT.

Arkansas’s summer heat requires paying attention to signs of heat exhaustion and taking steps to prevent sunburn. Alexander put it best when she said sunburns in childhood are where skin cancer in adults often comes from.

“Every kid needs sunscreen, even if they are darker-complected, because you don’t want premature aging and skin damage,” she said. “Fairer-skinned kids like mine are definitely at greater risk of having a painful burn.”

Spray-on sunscreen is designed to be reapplied every 60 to 90 minutes; Alexander recommends SPF 50 at minimum. She also said for maximum protection, look to titanium dioxide and zinc creams. As for exposure to the heat, Alexander preached common sense.

“Most kids, if they’re just playing and not doing some sport where they’re being pushed, should be able to be outside when it’s hot,” she said. “You want to make sure they have plenty to drink and you keep them hydrated. If they’re flushed, or complain of not feeling well, that’s the time to get them inside and keep an eye on them.”

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By: Meagan Ruffing

It’s hot. It’s humid. The kids are out of school, and your budget is limited to one outing a week that does not involve free admission. You’re in the middle of summer break, and your kids are whining about being bored, while you’re just trying to get them to sleep past 7am. What’s a mom to do?

Well, let me tell you. I’m in the thick of a three-kid pile-up and, while I love my laissez-faire days with my bebes… I’m also left scratching my head in the middle of the day when my 10-year-old looks at me and asks, “Mom, what else are we doing today that’s fun?” To help all the other mamas out there (including myself), I’ve come up with 12 simple things to do with your kids this summer that won’t break the bank.

1. Splash Pad. Make a game out of how many splash pads you can go to in the month of July. You and your kids will probably end up finding a few hidden gems you never knew about.

2. Movies. A lot of local movie theaters have some sort of discounted day during the summer. I thought it would be packed when I took my kids last year because the ticket price was discounted extremely low, but I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t too bad.

3. Library. Every library has some sort of summer reading program. These are actually really fun, because your kids can earn prizes, and while most of them are cheap little toys that you’ll end up throwing away, some of them are well worth nagging your kids to keep reading. This is a great way for you to catch up on that magazine you bought about 5 months ago, but never got to read.

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4. Hiking. This is something new my kids and I have recently started doing. It’s way out of all of our comfort zones, but we’re loving every minute of our outdoor adventures. Since I’m a newly single mom, my kids have really stepped up to help fill the gaps where they see me needing help.

5. Camping. Another “new to us” thing to do, and it’s super cheap! Not only did my kids and I conquer something new together… I learned something fun about each one of them. My son Dylan knows how to keep a fire going. My daughter Hannah prefers to stay in the tent to draw, and my little one Ellie thinks every green plant she sees is poison ivy. We’ll definitely be doing this one again really soon.

6. Parks. As long as it’s not too hot outside, go ahead and hit the park. My kids and I compile a list of all the local parks, and like to see how many we can hit each summer. It’s free, and it’s also one of my top tips on how to meet other moms.

7. Pack a Picnic. Keep it simple and gather up those Bento boxes for a lunch outside. You can incorporate this into one of your park days, or venture out your back door for a change of scenery while you and your little ones snack on cheese and fruit. Turn it up a notch and let your kids help make their own lunches. This is a great way to introduce them to the new world of “doing it on their own” before back-to-school time gets here.

8. Make cookies. No one likes to turn the oven on when it’s 90 degrees outside, so save this activity for a rainy summer day. Pull out your

grandmother’s favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, or pop in some break n’ bake Pillsbury cookies. Jam out to some music with your kids while you wait for them to cook. Be sure you make enough to keep and give away. Who doesn’t love a sweet surprise?

9. Volunteer. This was one of my favorite things my kids and I did last summer, so we’re going to do it again this year. Ask your friends, or put a question out there in Facebook world about the best places to volunteer with kids. Not only will you be able to help other people, but you will be teaching your kids a lesson on giving back. It’s free to do and makes you feel good. It’s a win-win.

10. Have a playdate. Summer is a great time to catch up with your girlfriends, so schedule those coffee dates. Book those early morning chat sessions (because we all know our kids still wake up at 6am during the summer) and fill your bucket with sound advice and everlasting encouragement from another mama.

11. Play board games. Okay. Truth. This is not my favorite thing to do with my kids, but I do it every now and then because I know they love it. Challenge yourself to (gulp) sit down on the floor with your kids and play at least one game a week with them this summer. Uno, Monopoly, Uno Attack, Memory, and Candyland are a few that we seem to rotate through, and are easy enough to enjoy.

12. Puzzles. I loved doing my kids’ puzzles so much that I splurged on a nice one at Barnes and Noble while my kids were at weekend story time.

I spent $17 on a puzzle with a French-inspired picture that reminded me of my time in Europe.

I’ve had a blast teaching my 5-year-old what ‘outside’ pieces are, and why it’s important to start with those first. Every time we sit down to work on the puzzle, I remember a new story from my days backpacking western Europe, and pretty soon, our puzzle time turns into story time, and all three of my kids are staring up at me with saucer-wide eyes.

You can’t beat that kind of audience.

Bucket list-loving author Meagan Ruffing loves challenging herself to try new things with her kids at least once a week, or when she’s had enough coffee to take on the world. She encourages others to do hard things, even when they feel like running the other way.

For more parenting tips and ideas, visit her on Facebook at writermeaganruffing.

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Meet the Doctors of

Alexis McCollum What did you want to be when you grew up?

I couldn’t decide between a veterinarian or a professional cheerleader.

When did you know you wanted to be a doctor?

Around 4th grade. I began to develop my love for science, especially biology. Being a physician was the best path for me to develop this.

When and how did Northwest Arkansas become home?

I moved here almost 2 years ago for work. However, the awesomeness of NWA made it feel like home almost immediately.

How many kids do you have?

Two daughters, Addison (7) and Mia (5) If you could give one piece of advice to a woman trying to get pregnant, what would it be?

There is no perfect time in life to have a baby.

Follow your heart, and don’t allow obligations of life/work to drive that decision.

If you could give one piece of advice to a woman about her health - at any stage - what would it be?

Make your own physical and mental health/wellbeing a top priority. As women, we often put our family’s needs above our own, forgetting that caring for ourselves is paramount to caring for others.

What is the best part of your job?

I love that I will care for a woman through all the stages and changes of life. I am honored to be a part of exciting decisions and experiences like fertility and delivery of her children. I am equally honored to be trusted with working together to improve quality of life through gynecologic health.

What does a typical weekend look like for you and your family?

We love being together as a family. This may range from just playing in the backyard, reading, seeing a movie, or getting out and exploring the outdoors of the Ozarks.

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Jan Furniss What did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be a doctor--never had a plan B. When did you know you wanted to be a doctor?

I knew for certain in the 10th grade of high school.

I chose the specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology during my OBGYN rotation as a third year medical student.

When and how did Northwest Arkansas become home?

I moved to this area in December of 2015 to work as an OB hospitalist and to be near my sister who lives in Centerton. I initially worked as a hospitalist in Tulsa, OK and in Springfield, MO before accepting a hospitalist position at Willow Creek Women’s Hospital in June of 2016. I then joined the Willow Creek Women’s Clinic in June of 2018.

How many kids do you have?

Two. Ben is 26 and Maddie is 22.

If you could give one piece of advice to a woman trying to get pregnant, what would it be?

Prior to getting pregnant, spend as much quality time with your husband/partner doing all the things you enjoy doing as a couple. Build a strong foundation prior to having a baby.

If you could give one piece of advice to a woman about her health - at any stage - what would it be?

Take care of your own health first (annual exams and screenings appropriate for age) because your family and friends love you and need you to be in their lives. You can not take care of those you love if you do not take care of yourself.

What is the best part of your job?

On the Obstetrics side, the best part is delivering babies. I delivered my first baby as a 3rd year medical student in 1982 and have delivered thousands of babies since then. It is still a joy and a privilege. Delivering a baby never gets old. On

the Gynecology side, the best part of my job is being able to perform a surgical procedure that dramatically improves a patient’s quality of life. I especially enjoy using the daVinci robot at Willow Creek Women’s Hospital.

What does a typical weekend look like for you and your family?

My typical weekend is spent with family and friends. My husband and I enjoy going to movies and concerts. I also love just spending time with my two young adult children. My sister, my daughter, and I enjoy going to antique shops looking for “treasures.”

Serena Pierson What did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was very young, I thought I wanted to be the President of the United States.

When did you know you wanted to be a doctor?

By the time I was in middle school, I had an idea that I wanted to be a doctor. I didn’t know what type of doctor I wanted to be until I was an undergraduate college student.

When and how did Northwest Arkansas become home?

I moved here from Dallas, TX after I graduated from residency. I joined my then fiancé (who is now my husband,) who was already living and working in NWA.

they are actually pregnant. It’s the best time to identify any previously undiagnosed health issues and confirm you are as healthy as you can possibly be before you get pregnant. When anyone decides they are ready to be a parent, most are impatient to achieve that goal. But try to enjoy the process, as well as the child-less life until you have your bundle (or bundles) of joy. With young children, it’s a lot harder (if not impossible) to sleep as late as you want on the weekends, go out to dinner with your significant other at the drop of a hat, or take a lastminute vacation without arranging for childcare, etc.

If you could give one piece of advice to a woman about her health - at any stage - what would it be?

Don’t neglect your routine health maintenance and regular check-ups. Try to make your health a priority—it feels good to know you are a partner in your own health and well-being.

What is the best part of your job?

Delivering babies! But I also love getting to know patients over the course of many years—it’s kind of like visiting with an old friend when they come in for their annual exam!

What does a typical weekend look like for you and your family?

If the weather is nice, we love spending time in the pool. We also like getting together with friends to cook dinner (unrushed—because so much of the time during the week it’s a rush to get dinner on the table and then get ready for the next day) while enjoying a glass of wine. Sunday mornings we typically go to church, and then the rest of the day is usually errands and stuff around the house to prepare for the week ahead. We also enjoy getting out of town to our cabin when I’m not on call.

How many kids do you have?

We have two sons.

If you could give one piece of advice to a woman trying to get pregnant, what would it be?

Oh, gosh, if I can only give one piece, that is difficult. I have several little pieces: If you are having regular periods and don’t have any health issues, don’t stress if it takes a few months. But, if your periods are irregular, or you are 35 years old or older and are having trouble conceiving, see an OBGYN sooner rather than later. Also, it’s a good idea for most women to see their OBGYN before

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by: Lauren Hays

E

ver have one of those days that you wish you could do all over again? My family experienced one of those days right before Thanksgiving of last year. We were out in the countryside looking at a house for my parents to buy. It was a new moon, so the darkness out in the country made it hard to see anything, even something right in front of your face, without a light. We had just left the property, and my kids were a little restless and arguing with each other. In an attempt to disperse the noise, my husband rolled down the windows. His Tahoe has captain’s chairs in the second row and, since the two youngest are still in car seats, that is where they were sitting.

The windows weren’t down long before the kids complained it was cold. Now, usually I am very vigilant in ensuring all hands are inside the car before the windows get rolled up. However, that night I was distracted because I was talking to my mom on the phone. Between the phone call and the kids complaining of being cold, it didn’t even register that either one of the kids would have their fingers out the window. The darkness also prevented me from being able to see. As my husband began to roll the windows up, we suddenly heard a crunch like a plastic wrapper being smashed. As I was asking my kids what the noise was, my son let out a blood-curdling scream.

Immediately, we pulled over, because I realized what I heard was a bone being crushed, and I knew we had broken a finger.

52 July 2019

We turned on the lights to see Davis holding his left hand with blood running down his arm. Once I was able to get him to show me his hand, I saw that his left middle finger tip was dangling by just skin right at the joint. Chaos ensued as my older two daughters saw his finger and began to cry hysterically. I grabbed my daughter’s coat, wrapped it around Davis’ finger and applied pressure as my husband rushed us to the ER. Unfortunately, the doctors were not able to save his finger tip. He underwent surgery that night to remove the rest and stitch up the end of his digit.

NEVER in a million years did I ever think about a car window being able to sever a finger! Davis was properly strapped in his car seat, and the car we were in actually had windows that only rolled halfway down. We thought this design was to help prevent broken fingers from occurring, but have since learned that is not the case.

Thankfully he is healing well and only complains when he hits his finger the wrong way. So far, he appears to be r ig ht-hand e d, which we are thankful for, as the injury won’t

affect his ability to learn to write.

After telling the story to family and friends, and hearing the same thing over and over again (“That is crazy, I never would have thought that could happen!”) I started to look into it further.

I thought for sure that this was just a fluke accident and we happened to draw the short stick on accidents this time.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that this was not the first time that this had occurred to a child’s finger in this make and model vehicle.

Not only that, the other injuries I found had occurred a few years before. No changes were made to the vehicle, and no warnings were issued to consumers. I went from being upset for my child to being angry.

We pursued legal action in an attempt to get changes made so that no other families would have to go through the same things we did. We were

told, however, that the “damages” weren’t enough to make a difference. The maddening part of it all is that the fix is easy. The manufacturer would just have to install a sensor that would automatically reverse the window if any tension was felt.

With not many options left, the only thing I can do is warn other parents about this danger.

The vehicle we were in was a 2013 Chevy Tahoe. This body style has the back windows that have the rounded back edge (where his finger got caught) and the sharp plastic piece on the outside (the piece that actually severed his finger) and was made from 20072013. I encourage all of you with small children to check the design features of your windows and to double and triple check that all fingers are inside the car before rolling them up. Share our story as a warning to your friends with little ones so we can hopefully prevent this from happening in the future.

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Jump Into

the

by: Terri Mallioux

Kids of all ages often wonder what their parents do at work all day when they say goodbye and walk out the door. Savannah Slinkard had the same curiosity about her parents. She was fascinated with their business, even as a young child. After all, their office building was filled with thousands of colorful lapel pins, decorative key chains, custom patches, magnets and more. It would be a treasure trove of fun for any youngster. Savannah wasn’t a kid in a candy store... she was a tyke surrounded by trinkets. Lots and lots of trinkets.

So, when she’d get asked the inevitable question, “What do your parents do?” Savannah would simply answer, “They make pins.” “Pens?” her friends would ask, somewhat confused. “No, pins, as in those things you see people wear on their jackets working at the grocery store or in a gift shop at a national park. You know, those decorative pins people trade at the Olympics,” Savannah would explain.

Fast forward to July of 2019, and 16-year-old Savannah, who recently wrapped up her junior year at Farmington High School, now understands the trinket business a lot more than she ever envisioned. She’s grabbing the reins, jumping in head first and is learning all about those pins her friends questioned her about. And, with her parents’ help, she’s making a new business venture her own by adding a twist. The result? PigPin, a

monthly subscription-based business focused on, you guessed it, pins.

Savannah, her brother, Nick Slinkard, and their friend, Tanner Green, created PigPin to bring trendy, unique and artistic pins directly to consumers. The three Northwest Arkansas entrepreneurs are following in the footsteps of Savannah and Nick’s parents, Cliff and Niki Slinkard, the owners and founders of Hogeye, Inc., a thriving local business based in Fayetteville with a customer list spanning across the United States and the world. Hogeye, founded in 1983, designs, manufactures and sells custom memorabilia such as lapel pins, magnets and patches to companies both large and small.

The brother and sister duo, plus Green, wanted to take pins directly to consumers to introduce the artistic pin market to a new customer base while capitalizing on the popularity of pins in an already existing market. They had the blueprint already-they simply wanted to come up with a fresh take on turning pins hip and mainstream, sort of like collectible concert pins in the 1980s. A monthly PigPin subscription is ideal for anyone wanting to start, gift, or add to their existing pin collection.

The way PigPin works is simple -- visit PigPin. com and subscribe. Every month, subscribers will choose one theme out of three choices, and customers will then be mailed a box filled with four custom-designed enamel pins connected to their selected theme. It’s a perfect combination of choice and surprise, because subscribers will not know what each pin will look like until it arrives on their doorstep. Green says this is way to create excitement, and a true surprise every month.

“Around the globe, the pin market continues to grow,” explains Green, a sophomore in the Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas in

Fayetteville who extensively studied the pin market before helping to launch PigPin. “Many people view the pins as wearable art and love to add them to a hat, a jean jacket or a backpack, while others simply collect them to decorate a bulletin board in their room or to trade,” Green says.

An enormous amount of research and thought goes into the design process for PigPin, from art to packaging to the names given to each monthly theme, and each individual pin. From “UF-YO,” a pin featuring a green alien flashing the peace sign, to a “What’s the Buzz?” bumble bee, every pin is highly detailed, whimsical, well-made and fun.

PigPin is also considering adding stickers to each box.

“These subscription boxes would be perfect for parents or grandparents to subscribe to for their grandchildren or kids,” says Savannah. “It’s an automatic little gift that can be mailed anywhere, and PigPin takes cares of all of the shipping. All the subscriber has to do is select a theme each month and tell us where to ship the box.”

Still in its infancy, PigPin is designing and manufacturing pins to attract a large audience --from kids, to pin collectors, to artsy folks, to adults of any age. And, holding true to the PigPin name and brand, every monthly box will contain one pin with a pig featured in the design. The pins even lay on fake packaging hay in the box to keep the pins secure during shipping.

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“Obviously, Nick and I have grown up around pins because of our family business, but it’s exciting to start a new venture with our own ideas,” says Savannah. “We’re excited to see where it takes us.”

“We really want to set ourselves apart from other monthly subscription boxes,” says Nick, who is instrumental in the creativity and design of each pin, plus the shipping box and label. “To keep things fresh, every month your box will have a different design label based on the theme the subscriber chooses.”

In addition, limited edition individual pins are available on the PigPin website, including the cute PigPin logo. PigPin t-shirts are also for sale on the website, along with logo stickers, which are ideal for cards, laptops, coolers or cups.

Those who sign up in the early stages will receive a complimentary PigPin Founder’s box, which includes two pins and two stickers. Savannah is leading social media outreach for the new business with a focus on Instagram, where giveaways take place. The three young entrepreneurs are thrilled to watch their Instagram followers grow daily as word spreads among the pin collecting crowd and expands to a new audience. Follow @ShopPigPin for details and more information.

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Green admits that, due to being a new company, PigPin must pay close attention to feedback, and is using social media metrics to help determine who their initial customers are in order to better customize its offerings going forward. He says PigPin would also love to partner with local businesses in order to create themes-- for instance, a coffee shop could work with the PigPin staff to help design and market a coffee-themed pin selection, or a bakery could offer pins with more of a ‘sweet tooth’ theme. The company would also like to develop special boxes to support charities, such as a selection featuring dogs to support a local animal shelter.

While the future of PigPin is not completely known at this time, one thing is certain-- these young adults from Northwest Arkansas are doing all they can to make their new business venture the best it can be, all while being open-minded, driven and supportive of each other.

“We all bring different skill sets to the table,” says Nick. “I’m the quiet one who likes to sit back and work on the creative side; Savannah is very personable, with great social media skills; and Tanner is fantastic with research, numbers, metrics and a timeline. We all have a role to play.”

“Our slogan is, ‘Jump in the Pin’ and the three of us have jumped into this venture 100 percent,” adds Green. “We hope others will jump in, too.”

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58 July 2019

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SCHEDULE OF DAY Morning: Youth Activities Community Booths, Education, Family Friendly Lunch: Awareness Activities Lunch & Kickoff Program Afternoon Activities: TOURNAMENTS Corn Hole, Pickle Ball Human Foosball, Volleyball After Hours: Comic & Cool Down

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Glance At a

ARTS and MUSIC

Amazeum (Pg. 35) (479) 696-9280 NWA Classical Academy (Pg. 63) (479) 715-6662 Trike Theatre (Pg. 44) (479) 464-5084 triketheatre.org

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First National Bank of NWA (Pg. 31) (479) 621-6800 First Security (Pg. 23) www.fsbank.com; www.onlyinark.com

CAMPS

Amazeum (Pg. 35) (479) 696-9280 Bright Haven Learning Center (Pg. 25) (479) 717-2344 Super Science (Pg. 13) (479) 444-0303 www.super-sci.com Trike Theatre (Pg. 44) (479) 464-5084 triketheatre.org

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NWA Center for Plastic Surgery (Pg. 2) (479) 571-3100 nwacenterforplasticsurgery.com Women’s Health Associates (Pg. 34) (479) 876-8111

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Botanical Garden of the Ozarks (Pg. 29) www.bgozarks.org First Baptist Christian School (Pg. 18) (479) 878-1052 Lifeway Christian School (Pg. 8) www.lwcsar.com NWA Classical Academy (Pg. 63) (479) 715-6662 Rogers Historical Museum (Pg. 25) www.rogershistoricalmuseum.org Super Science (Pg. 13) (479) 444-0303 www.super-sci.com Thaden School (Pg. 57) (479) 268-5321 Trike Theatre (Pg. 44) (479) 464-5084 triketheatre.org

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FOOD / DRINK

DENTIST

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Real Estate / Moving

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Dr. Averitt, Megan, Staci & and the staff of Best Start Pediatric Clinic would like to welcome our new Nurse Practitioner, Bessie Smith, APRN.

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