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Show ! Volunteers needed to help Family Friends in county held all his waking hours if that were possible," Mrs. Whitby said. Although David's condition is not usually painful, he is on a medication that relaxes his muscles when they become so tense that he goes completely stiff. If a Family Friend volunteers to help David, Mrs. Whitby says it would relieve her at least a couple of hours a week to catch up on the many things that go undone because David needs extra care. A volunteer might spend some time with the other Whitby children who don't receive as much attention as they would like because of the extra time the parents have to spend with David. Easter Seals carefully matches the Family Friend volunteers with families that will suit their needs. The volunteers take a three-day training course before they are mat-ched. mat-ched. Course emphasis is on emergency care, : introduction to handicaps, disabilities and. chronic illnesses. They receive hands-on training for a day in a classroom setting. set-ting. Ideas for arts and crafts and how to simply just talk and listen to their new friends are also addressed in the training. Upcoming training is scheduled for September. v A Family Friend is a person who loves children and has compassion for special needs children. A dose and personal-relationship ivith-the child and the family can develop and the reward is simply love. For more information regarding the Family Friends Project contact Dana Porter at the Utah Easter Seal Society, 531-0571. . By DONETA GATHERUM KAYSVILLE - "If I had a Family Friend, she could take David for a buggy ride. That would amuse him for at least an hour. She could pay attention to him, sing to him, play with him. Maybe a Family Fami-ly Friend would have ideas about keeping David happy that I haven't tried. It is difficult to come up with new things all the time," said Anna Whitby, mother of David, a nearly three-year-old boy who is suffering from metachromatic-leuko dystrophy,' a rare recessively transmitted genetic disease. The Whitby family is one of more than 40 families in Utah that are currently waiting for a Family Friend volunteer to help them with a chronically ill or disabled child under 12 years of age. Fourteen of these families are in Davis County alone and five families are in Weber County. Family Friends is a project of the Utah Easter Seal Society and is co-sponsored co-sponsored by the Utah Division of Aging and the Salt Lake County Aging Services. The project is privately funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Currently 35 families in Utah are matched with a volunteer. Family Friends are usually seniors, 50 years of age and older who have made a nine month volunteer vol-unteer commitment to the project. The volunteer goes to the home for four hours once or twice a week. They may receive $8 a visit plus transportation costs. Accident and liability insurance are provided at no cost as well as a physical exam. In the case of the Whitby family, a Family Friend would be especially espe-cially helpful after school starts. The older Whitby girls, four in number, have been very good to help care for David this summer as . his condition has degenerated. Their absence will be missed by Anna when school starts. Since metachromatic-leuko dystrophy is a rare progressive disease that lacks enzymes that keep the nervous system healthy, David will require more care as time passes. The condition was first noticed when David was about one year old. He walked but the mannerisms associated with -walking seemed abnormal. David was taken to Primary Children's Hospital and after six months of testing, the disease was diagnosed. At the age of two, David could take and respond to puzzles, games and other two-year-old things. Today, To-day, he has lost these abilities. Three weeks ago, David could touch his nose and . show you his bright red hair. Today, he lies and smiles. "He loves to be rubbed and to listen to me sing. He would be r P!,4-! . V-Kf-r 'r' Photo By ROGER TUTTLE Several members of the Whitby family play with David daily so that he can get the most out of "his life. Pictured are Mrs. Anna Whitby and her daughters, Heidi Nicole (oldest pictured), Emily and Amy. A Family Friend could give David extra attention and allow Mrs. Whitby a few hours of freedom from the pressure of caring for a chronically ill child., |