7th Annual "Maile's Dream" - A Celebration of Differences

Today was a very special day for a very special family who has gone through a lot of pain with their most precious daughter "Maile." They will be celebrating her 7th Annual Maile's Dream, a fundraiser for Easter Seals hosted by the Washington Middle School students, family and staff. At this event, the goal is to educate kids on what it is like to be different with activities like blind bowling, wheelchair basketball, obstacle course, etc.

This is a very touching story and at times very hard to write as you read on. I spoke with Maile's mom, Cindy Ogata (top photo Cindy, Maile and Ernest Ogata), and she related to me that Maile was born with Apert's Syndrome (click here), fused fingers/toes, cleft palate, midface, skull and bones in her feet fused. Maile underwent skull surgery when she was only nine months old. Post-surgery her arms were strapped down for the next five days. When she was released from the hospital, they had to teach her how to roll over and crawl again. By her third birthday, Maile had undergone six surgeries, five of them done in California. She has gone through a lot of pain over the years, but she has a very strong spirit, character, and the determination that is a part of every child's dream to just have fun.

Cindy further related that she was on leave of absence for two years without pay from Washington Middle School as a counselor/teacher. With no income and the tons of medical bills for Maile, her coworkers stepped in and started a fund to raise money for their medical expenses and trips. After she returned to work, she asked to earmark the funds to some organization and came up with Easter Seals. They were a blessing and a big help for Maile. They provided occupational therapy for her fine motor skills (fingers), physical therapy as she couldn't hold her large head up for months, and taught her to learn to walk again.

At her third birthday, Maile graduated out of the Easter Seals Intervention Program and into the Special Education DOE system. By kindergarten, she graduated out of the Special Education system and into the real world of regular education. Maile is now a fifth grader at Aliamanu Elementary School.

"A Mothers Dream"... "I have a dream...that one day my child will not be judged by her physical difference but by the content of her character" (Martin Luther King Jr. revised by Cindy Ogata). This is how this event came about and is named "Maile's Dream - A Celebration of Differences" Family Fair. I have to say that Easter Seals (click here) was like family to me as I had no one else who could understand what it was like to have a "special child." We needed them and we're grateful that they were there during Maile's developmental years.

Michael Harano, Principal at Washington Middle School, who received the 2010 National Distinguished Principal Award, related that "today's event is a great event and I'm really proud of our student leaders who choose every year to support this event; and it's not something we make them do, it's something that the students themselves feel is important and want to do. It's about looking at diversity. One thing about our school is we have a very diverse population. What I try to tell the kids is that initially it's the similarities that draw us together, but really it's the differences in us that adds the spice to life and makes life worth living. Celebrating these differences in this event is important for our kids.

Special thanks to Easter Seals Dawn Williams, Program Manager; Andrea P. Oka, Communications Coordinator; Tunui's Royal Polynesian Dancers; Kanani Dias, Mrs. Hawaii Filipina 2010; and to all the participants that made this event a special one for Maile and her parents, Ernest and Cindy Ogata. See more photos "click here."