Jill's House

A couple of years ago, a family friend called me and told me about an incredible place called Jill's House. She mentioned that she was certain that Jill had what Cole did, but doctors could not find out what was wrong with her. I looked the place up, but it was clear across the country. It seemed like an incredible facility. I tried to contact the founders, to ask them if their daughter had ever been tested for Dravet, but I think my e-mail got lost in the shuffle.

Lo and behold, years passed and come to find out, Jill got a diagnosis of Dravet, right after her doctor attended a conference and sat next to me at dinner. Then we moved across the country, right into the area that Jill's House serves. Coincidence? Probably not.

I finally got to go and tour Jill's House when they held a get-together for Dravet parents before the National Walk for Epilepsy. It is completely state of the art! I was so impressed with these people who wanted to give back to their community. We even got to meet Jill! She liked Slugger :)
To learn more about Jill's House and their mission, go here. They have a gym, indoor pool, sensory rooms, an incredible covered outdoor playground, computer rooms and much more!

This is one of the activity rooms. All decked out like a stage!

The kids went crazy over this sensory room, climbing everywhere!

I want a Serenity Corner (aka padded, windowless room) in my house! Seriously. It even had a hook to put a sensory swing in the middle.

All of the rooms were designed so well to fit special needs kids. Including the bathrooms.
There were beautiful murals everywhere! Reminded me of Miami Childrens Hospital.

It was so nice to see some of our friends and to meet some new ones!Some of us had dinner afterwards. It is hard to explain how wonderful it is to have a meal with other Dravet families. It is controlled chaos, but no one cares! It is one of the strangest family reunions you could attend, but I wish we could have them all of the time :) This is as close as we got to taking a family picture!
I can't wait until Cole turns 6 and can take advantage of Jill's House. The best news? It is covered by his Medicaid Waiver-he can go FOR. FREE. Once a month! The staff there have really made it accessible to all sorts of kids. They hold a medical conference before your visit and try to have the same nurses every time, so your child gets used to them. They want it to become the new "going to grandma's". They have a long list of volunteers and try to also match their special skills and personalities to your child's. These people could take care of Cole (and Slugger) and he would feel like he was on vacation! It will be such a wonderful experience for him, and us. If you live in the greater D.C. area and have a child with special needs-check out Jill's House for respite. They have even served people from outside our area while the rest of the family enjoys what D.C. has to offer. I strongly encourage you to look at their website. They are looking to build more of these across the country!