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Families of SMA Newly Diagnosed Type I Care Packages
Adi and Shaina Rappoport and the Jacob Isaac Rappoport Foundation recently awarded Families of SMA with additional funding for the Type I Care Packages for the next year. These care packages are sent to every new family with a Type I diagnosis that contacts Families of SMA.
These care packages were originally created by Donna and Alex Abraldes in memory of their daughter Deirdre. The Abraldes family started making these care packages in 2001. In 8 years, they created over 450 care packages for newly diagnosed families.
In 2007, Mary Jane and Tim Utzat began making care packages. They would make 5 - 10 care packages at a time and ship them to the Families of SMA National Office to send to families the day that they made first contact. These packages included a hand knit blanket and rattle that Tim's mother, Marianne Utzat, had made.
With the help of the funding from the Jacob Isaac Rappoport Foundation, we have been able to add many new helpful items for newly diagnosed Type I families. Some of the items in the care packages now include:
Fisher Price Swing
Baby Einstein DVD - donated by Paual Lavigne
Several toys light enough for an SMA infant
Lightweight balloons on a stick
Feather
Hand Print Molds
Several links
Silkie Security Blanket
Finger puppets
Infant Bath Pad - donated by the Lillo Foundation
Sheepskin blanket
Fisher Price Projector
Motorized bubble wand
Handmade quilts by a Type I grandmother  Many of the items include a label with a few sentences explaining the item, summarized by Mary Jane and Tim Utzat. They give other toy ideas as well as include several pictures of their daughter Samantha using some of the toys.
The packages include books donated by Donna Taylor (in memory of her daughter Hannah Jean Campbell) and a Baby Einstein DVD set donated by Paula Lavigne (in memory of her son Wyatt Teagan Arnold). Cindy Bobolz, Grandmother of Nora Gooden, has also been busy making beautiful quilts to send in every one of these care packages.
Families of SMA currently sends over 200 Type I care packages each year to newly diagnosed families.
Families can also receive a Radio Flyer Wagon from Families of SMA. The wagons are beneficial for transporting type I infants around the house, yard, doctors' offices, hospitals, stores, etc. The babies love to be pulled around in the wagons and may be more comfortable to be moved from one location to another in them as opposed to being picked up and carried frequently for feedings, diaper changes, etc. Many families also add attachments to the wagon to hang toys, tie balloons, or hang bolus or feeding bags. Many families line their wagon with the Sheepskin Blanket, also sent by FSMA. 
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