THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 27, 1996 TAG: 9607270192
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 90 lines
Anthony Johnson screamed with delight as his rope swing soared toward the tree's lofty branches. Mike Burton broke into a big-brother grin as he pushed Anthony higher.
Burton, 19, was among 18 crew members of the Norfolk-based guided missile cruiser Vella Gulf who packed hot dogs, hamburgers - and lots of heart - for a 30-mile jaunt inland Thursday to the Bradshaw farm near Chuckatuck.
Anthony, 10, lost his 4-year-old sister, Emanuella, to AIDS just weeks ago, and now his mother is hospitalized with the same illness.
Each of the children at the event has either lost a brother or sister recently or has a sibling who is battling a life-threatening illness.
For Anthony and the others, it was a chance to have fun with children facing similar problems, an Edmarc priority. Parents often must devote most of their efforts to their sick children, sometimes leaving other siblings feeling isolated or neglected, said Pamela J. Gallagher, the hospice's community resource coordinator.
``Edmarc supports the entire family,'' she said.
Neither streaks of lightning nor torrential downpours dampened the sailors' spirits as they waited for the children to arrive from all over Hampton Roads.
``This is kind of a new thing for me,'' Burton said. A native Californian who has been in the Navy for two years, he said he misses having kids around.
``I may not be ready for my own right now, but I like to play with someone else's kids.''
A break in the weather lured everyone to a tractor-drawn haywagon for a tour of the farm before supper.
Pony rides and an impromptu toad hunt gave some of the sailors and children a glimpse of farm life they had not seen before.
``I am very city, but I could love this,'' Rayvon Shelton said as he jumped from the haywagon.
Shelton, 33, has a wife and three children in his hometown of Chicago.
He was an elementary school art teacher there until six months ago, when he fulfilled a dream and joined the Navy. ``I am here tonight because I am a people person, a little-people person,'' Shelton said.
Several months ago, Chaplain Anthony Headrick contacted Edmarc, volunteering his crew to help in any way needed. Gallagher had discussed the idea of a picnic with longtime hospice volunteer Peggy Bradshaw, and Headrick's crew seemed perfect partners.
``We do community relations projects overseas when we go into foreign ports,'' Headrick said, ``but I felt like we needed to give something back to our own community.''
In April, the ship hosted the Edmarc siblings for a tour and lunch on the mess deck. That was such a success that when Headrick posted a signup sheet for Thursday's outing, two dozen sailors signed up almost immediately.
Kenneth Moore, a student Navy chaplain who had been a former civilian pastor, was surprised by the crew's eagerness.
``Even in civilian churches, a lot of times it is the women who will volunteer, not the young men. But these men were just excited about coming. Just say `kids', and they come.''
For John Russell, the cookout was another in a long series of volunteer activities.
With his wife and daughter in Florida, Russell fills his leisure time as a volunteer firefighter, as a Fest Events volunteer and with whatever other events strike his interest.
Also a father, Larry Richard has another compelling reason to work with the Edmarc siblings. Now 38, he was only 12 when his 13-year-old brother drowned. ``As soon as he was out of the picture, I was really lost,'' Richard said.
``You never really get over something as tragic as that, but hopefully the things I have picked up because of that will let me help other families when I can because I know what the kids are going through.''
Amid the goodbyes at the end of the evening were promises to exchange letters, especially when the Vella Gulf deploys on a six-month cruise in November. MEMO: ABOUT EDMARC
The nation's oldest home-based pediatric hospice, Edmarc, serves
about 100 patients annually. It was created in 1977, at the urging of
the Rev. Ed Page, pastor at Suffolk Presbyterian Church. He was a
cancer patient, and he had seen the problems faced by a family in his
congregation when their child, Marcus Hogge, was diagnosed as terminally
ill.
Last week, Edmarc moved its headquarters from Portsmouth to the
campus of Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk. The
new phone number is 668-8600. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II, The Virginian-Pilot
Navy man John Russell helps Heather Medeiros garnish her hot dog at
the Edmarc cookout Thursday at the Bradshaw farm in Suffolk.
Eighteen crew members of the Norfolk-based guided missile cruiser
Vella Gulf helped host the Edmarc picnic Thursday at the Bradshaw
farm in Suffolk. Hotdogs, hamburgers and hayrides were the order of
the day for children who have a sick or deceased sibling. by CNB