When Michael Hayes was offered the job of president and general manager of WYFF in 2003, he and his wife, Patti, took a leap of faith in moving to Greenville.
Their two young sons, Patrick and Brady, then 5 and 3, were experiencing significant developmental delays. Both had trouble with movement, and Brady wasn’t talking. Despite multiple tests and appointments with specialists at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, the couple were no closer to understanding how to help their boys.
“They were getting further and further behind,” Patti Hayes said. “We were hopeful that with a fresh set of eyes, we could get answers.”
Within days of moving to Greenville, they were invited to tour Greenville Memorial Hospital, now Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital, in connection with Michael’s job. Their guide was Dr. Bill Schmidt, founder of the Center for Developmental Services.
“There was a piece of equipment that I was familiar with, and he was surprised,” Patti recalled. “He asked, ‘How do you know the name of that?’ I told him about the boys and everything we had been through. He connected us with Dr. Desmond Kelly and Dr. Augusto Morales. They were crucial to getting referrals to CDS for therapies to help our sons.”
A child participates in occupational therapy with CDS partner Kidnetics.CDS was founded in 2000 to make caring for children with delays and disabilities easier and more effective by linking medical and support services in a single location. For Patrick and Brady, that meant that even though they would need hours of physical, occupational and speech therapy every week over a period of years, they could do it all under one roof.
CDS partners take advantage of outdoor space to provide life-changing therapies.“Everybody knew my children and worked as a team,” Patti said. “I don’t know what we would have done without CDS, because the boys still had to go to school, they still had to be children. Having everything in one place enabled them to have time to do that.”
After referrals to specialists in Atlanta for more testing, both boys were diagnosed with mitochondrial disorder. They were missing key enzymes to produce energy, affecting their speech and motor function.
“Brady also had major sensory issues that compounded his challenges. We used to say, ‘The world bothers Brady,” Patti said. “One doctor told us he would never go to a typical school. We said, ‘We’re going to let our kids tell us what they can and cannot do.’”
With the right treatment, hard work and the family’s unflagging faith, the boys thrived. Both graduated from Clemson this year – Brady, 23, with a bachelor’s degree in arts and communications, and Patrick, 25, with an MBA.
“We are ever grateful to Greenville, the doctors, and CDS for the quality of life for my boys,” Patti said. “CDS is a gift to anyone who walks through those doors and in the end the hope the soul needs to fight the fight.”
Executive Director Dana McConnell said CDS serves more than 8,000 children and their families each year. It provides evaluation, diagnosis, therapy, psychology, audiology, day care needs for the medically fragile, early intervention, case management and a family-support network. The partnership comprises Clarity, Project Hope Foundation, Thrive Upstate and four programs of Prisma Health: Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Kidnetics, The Wonder Center, and Prosthetics and Orthotics.
The nonprofit also serves adults who need service coordination with day programs and residential housing, job coaching and placement, home and vehicle modifications, and transportation or crisis intervention.
“The CDS staff and our partners know, first hand, why our unique collaboration of services are so vital to the families we serve,” McConnell said. “We are grateful that Mike and Patti Hayes shared their story, as it demonstrates a continual need for support to ensure we are here to help more children in our community for years to come.”
For more information about CDS and its partners, or to make a year-end gift, visit cdservices.org.
