ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 13, 1996 TAG: 9603130041
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on March 14, 1996.
Kimberly Braine's first name was misspelled in a cutline in Tuesday's
Current.
NOTE: Story ran in Wednesday's Current.
Darrell Waugh Jr. could become a lot of things when he grows up. But for now he's back to being a poster boy.
A victim of cerebral palsy, Darrell is representative of a growing number of low-income handicapped citizens whose families - and care providers - can't keep up with their special needs.
In particular, Darrell needs public financial help because he and his bulky wheelchair can't be readily transported in a regular automobile.
Three years ago a fund drive bought the wheelchair Darrell needed to begin school. Now he's asking for more: a handicapped accessible van.
Darrell, a 5-year-old kindergarten student, is doing well in class and he's popular among his classmates. Yet his mother, Drema, says getting him around to the various doctors and therapists he sees has become increasingly difficult.
Without the resources to purchase such a vehicle, friends and family have set up another fund drive for Darrell, intended to raise whatever it takes to aid his mobility.
Drema Waugh, a single parent and Blacksburg resident who works part time, says there's no way she can pay for the car by herself. She gets public benefits but barely enough to get by.
"I'm out of groceries by the end of the month. It's hard," she says.
New River Valley social workers say transportation is among the most daunting challenges facing the poor. In a rural area, people are widely dispersed, and so are the offices of care providers.
Darrell Waugh's hard luck story isn't unique. In fact, it's very similar to the dilemma George McKinley Smith's family confronted last year.
Smith, too, is a handicapped and wheelchair-bound boy whose family didn't have the money for the right kind of transportation.
After a story about George appeared in The Roanoke Times last summer, well-wishers contributed thousands of dollars to a fund drive.
Now, George's grandmother - who obtained custody to keep her grandson out of a foster home - has a van. Donors gave Linda Smith about $5,000, and an individual gave her the vehicle. Smith used the money to make the van roadworthy, and for some medical supplies for George, a 2-year-old who suffers from spina bifida and other congenital ailments.
How many other Darrell Waughs and George Smiths are there?
"Plenty," said Susan Lindsey, a counselor who has worked with both boys and their families.
The recent trend away from warehousing the handicapped in institutions has increased financial pressures on families. "We're supposed to support families so they can stay together," Lindsey said.
Many comparatively well-to-do families also struggle financially to care independently for their handicapped children, she added.
In the case of Darrell Waugh and George Smith, with care givers who largely depend on public assistance, Lindsey said: "A vehicle is going to be essential to keep these families together. [They] just don't have that kind of money."
Public agencies work with eligible families to help provide basics, but resources are limited - and there's no lot stocked with handicapped-accessible vehicles for low-income citizens.
Desperation leads people like Drema Waugh to the uncomfortable position of asking for a public handout. Being depicted as a charity case bothers her. "But I've got to have it for Darrell," she explained.
For the first several years of Darrell's life, Waugh said she got by with help from "Medicaid and the man up above." Now she's divorced, and Darrell's needs are growing with him.
In school now, Darrell's exuberance helps to counteract the difficulties he has in communicating and in harnessing his motor skills.
"He's very pleasant, very sensitive to what's going on around him," said Gail King, his teacher at Kipps Elementary School. "Other parents have called and said they're glad Darrell is in the room."
It's too early to tell how far Darrell will develop, or if he'll be able to walk with or without assistance someday. Kimberly Braine, a special education aid at the school, says she's seen marked improvement in his vocabulary.
Darrell needs to see his therapist, to maintain his progress, but Drema Waugh said, "I have no way of getting him there."
He comes and goes from school on a bus, but any other trip occurs in her father's car. Drema Waugh contorts herself and Darrell to place him in the back seat. He's 38 pounds now and she's developing back problems.
The idea is to sell that car and use donated money to buy a van that can be made handicapped accessible. Jars placed on store counters brought in a little money, but not nearly enough to finance a $6,000-8,000 used vehicle.
"We want dependable transportation. It needs to be able to grow with Darrell," Braine said. "Without the community's help, this family cannot obtain the type of transportation that he needs."
Some money has been raised from Virginia Tech sorority Delta Gamma that Braine advises. A local car dealer, John Duncan, has donated $200 and is challenging other dealers to match it.
"We know it's going to take a lot of time and a lot of patience," Braine said.
"I admire families that try to come up with the resources," Lindsey said. "We're going to have to start helping our neighbor."
Contributions to The Darrell Waugh Fund may be made at First National Bank, 50 N. Franklin St., Christiansburg, or at branch locations in Blacksburg or Radford. More information can be obtained from the bank official in charge of the fund, Grover Jones, at 951-0180.
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. 1. Darrell Waugh Jr. gets strapped intoby CNBhis wheelchair by special education aide Kimberley Braine, who
helped to set up the fund drive intended to buy a special van. 2.
Drema Waugh moves her son Darrell to her father's car. 3. Drema
Waugh says getting Darrell around to the various doctors and
therapists he sees has become increasingly difficult. color.