THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9607310205
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 76 lines
A doe bounding across the farm lane and into a cornfield reminded the sailors of the Vella Gulf just how far inland their drive had brought them.
Eighteen crew members of the Norfolk-based guided missile cruiser had driven 30 miles Thursday to meet volunteers from the Edmarc Hospice for Children at the Bradshaw farm, just outside Chuckatuck, to host a cookout/ hayride. The guests of honor were all siblings of Edmarc clients. Each child has a brother or sister who is battling a life-threatening illness or has recently lost a sibling.
It was one of at least a dozen special events Edmarc plans for client siblings each year. Whether a trip to a Tides game or a picnic, the events give the children a chance to have fun and socialize with other kids who are also facing tragic family situations.
Early evening thunderstorms rumbling overhead did nothing to discourage the sailors or their young guests. When the rain slowed to a drizzle, longtime Edmarc volunteer Charles Bradshaw put his tractor in gear and gave his guests a guided farm tour on a hay wagon.
``Thank God I'm a country boy,'' sang Rayvon Shelton, 33, much to the amusement of his fellow sailors who knew that the Chicago native has spent very little time outside city limits.
``We have some sailors out here tonight who have never been on a farm,'' Anthony Headrick, chaplain of the Vella Gulf, said.
``One guy came out here and stood for a moment before he said he could not live here because it is too quiet, and he is used to purse snatchers, sirens and guns.''
The Vella Gulf sailors try to arrange community service projects in the foreign ports they visit. Recently Headrick decided it was time to give something back to this community and volunteered his sailors for whatever project Edmarc needed.
Michael Parschall, 27 and from Ithaca, N.Y., had a hard time explaining why he volunteers except for the good feeling he gets working with kids. ``And it helps me understand my own two kids better,'' he said.
After the wagon ride, a few games of catch, and an impromptu frog hunt, the sailors and the kids got better acquainted over hamburgers and hot dogs.
Diane Ruhl, 33 and from Minnesota, has a long volunteer record during her 10 years in the Navy. A former physical education teacher, much of Ruhl's volunteer time is devoted to athletics and children. ``I am married but have no kids of my own, so this gives me the opportunity to be part of someone else's life,'' she said. ``It is my way to touch someone.''
Pamela J. Gallagher, Edmarc community resource coordinator, and the other volunteer drivers who took the children home after the outing knew how affected they were by the sailors' kindness. ``Their mood was so lifted,'' she said. ``They talked about the sailors and about writing to them.''
The Vella Gulf deploys in November, so the Edmarc children can look forward to a pen pal relationship with their new heroes and friends. ILLUSTRATION: With Charles Bradshaw at the wheel of his tractor,
young Edmarc Hospice guests and crew members of the Vella Gulf enjoy
a hayride at Bradshaw's farm just outside Chuckatuck.
Guest Tito Anthony holds up his fingers to show he's 10.
Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Stephanie Gilmer, left, Stephanie Nuckols and Heather Medeiros dig
into the food provided at the cookout.
ABOUT EDMARC
As the nation's oldest home-based pediatric hospice, Edmarc
serves about 100 patients annually.
It was created in Suffolk 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. Both Page and Hogge are deceased.
Two weeks ago, 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. by CNB