A Heartfelt Story 
by Merrily Smith
Like most Misericordia parents, I have a deep appreciation for the staff that serves my son, Tyler. I am grateful for their hard work and dedication, and I try not to take that for granted.
Day after day, they are there making sure our guys are safe and well cared for. It is not something we usually think of, but they spend more time with our kids than we do, and because of that, they sometimes pick up on things that we may not notice during home visits or when we visit them on campus. Once such time really stands out to me…
A few years ago, my husband, Tyler’s father, died after a long illness. In the months that followed, Tyler seemed to be doing ok when he was home with me. I knew he was sad, he often talked about his dad, but he was sleeping and eating ok when he was with me and most of the time he seemed as happy as ever. That is why I was surprised when his Q called me to tell me that she and the DSP staff, who knew him so well, thought he was experiencing signs of depression. Based on their observations, I contacted his doctor, who made some medication changes. While this helped, the depression still continued. So, further steps were initiated. He was paired with an art therapist at Mis and met with her regularly. Through drawing and artwork, Tyler was able to express some of his sorrow that he could not otherwise articulate. But it still did not end there. The amazing staff organized a small grief support group with a few other residents who had recently lost a close relative. This group did wonders for Tyler. I don’t know the details of these group meetings because I wasn’t present, but they had an impact on my son that both his house staff and I noticed. He loved getting together with this group of friends who understood what he was going through. I loved hearing about their kind and thoughtful activities. One time, the group talked about their loved one’s favorite foods, took a trip to the store, and prepared food to share what reminded them of that person.
What I think about when I recall this time in Tyler’s life, is that the Misericordia staff cared enough for my son that they took extraordinary measures to make sure he was doing well. They went the extra mile. That is amazing. That is nothing to take for granted.
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