Gerri Lynn Ayala was born August 6, 1976, the 15th of 16 children. But unlike the other 14 born before her, Gerri was born with Cerebral Palsy with seizure activity and autism. She is paraplegic, wheelchair bound with limited left side use of her body.  She has the IQ of a pre-schooler, will never walk or live on her own. Gerri will never get married or know how it feels to raise a child. But, thankfully, she was also born with a desire to live.

Gerri is the best thing that could have happened to our family. She is very animated, extremely sociable, incredibly cute, fun and loves to sing.  It is an honor to call her my sister. While growing up, I knew there was a chance she would not be with us forever and we celebrated every birthday. But as the years passed, I witnessed her body and desire to live grow even stronger. I then wondered if she would ever be able to have a graduation day as I experienced or play sports like myself and all my other siblings. Was it enough for her to merely witness these things but not be able to call them her own?  As I grew up and became a proud mom, I witnessed my own kids attend school and excel in sports and hoped that my mom would have the same opportunity with Gerri. Thankfully, Our Promise, in cooperation with Tri Counties Regional Center and other non-profit organizations within Ventura County, has provided the opportunities and resources to help both my mom and Gerri experience this sense of freedom, independence, normalcy, happiness and triumph.

For a wheelchair-bound person, having a reliable method of transportation to experience life is priceless and creates the opportunity for many memorable moments. Tri Counties Regional Center has helped make Gerri’s goals and dreams a reality by providing a new wheelchair lift for her van. It has allowed my mom and Gerri to take the 20 mile drive each way to attend classes at Ventura College. They are also able to go swimming and take trips to the bowling alley to prepare for the Special Olympics. The van has provided them a chance to visit other siblings in Las Vegas as well as myself and my brother in the Sacramento area.  Allowing others to share in these memorable moments is of utmost importance to my mom. She provides recreation transportation for other persons with disabilities to join my sister on daily excursions, such as bowling, the beach, special lunches, or their favorite casino! 

So the impact of Tri Counties reaches far beyond just my family.  Tri Counties has also assisted my mom with diapers, lotion and bath soap that my sister desperately needs on a regular basis, but can become quite costly over the course of a year.  In addition, Tri Counties Regional offers my mom 24 hours of Respite Care each month. This benefit gives her the opportunity to either run errands, pick up items for Gerri or just use the free time to regroup and re-energize from the daily care she provides for my sister.  I cannot even begin to describe what a necessary and important service this is.  Raising a child with special needs is even more than a 24-hour a day job and I am grateful to Tri Counties for offering this priceless service for my mom.  And finally, Tri Counties Regional Center provides my mom with In-Home Support Services, a monthly stipend to supplement the care for my sister as her sole caregiver.

Being a widow for the past 10 years and living on a limited income, this benefit has greatly reduced the stress of how to continue to care for my sister.  Although my mom is 70 years old, she has never illustrated the inability, capability or desire NOT to continue to raise my sister.  She is truly an amazing woman. And I know, without a doubt, that without the help of Our Promise, Tri Counties Regional Center, and the other non-profit organizations my mom has tapped into, she would not feel as confident as she does about her ability to continue to raise my sister at home.

As I think back to the days I wondered if Gerri would experience the same life’s triumphs as I had, I now know the answer. Gerri is a swimmer, bowler, high school graduate, Special Olympic gold medalist, and my amazing little sister. And as she prepares for another Special Olympics Games this winter, I have no doubt that she will be a champion again, whether or not she earns another medal. None of this would be possible without the services and resources that Our Promise has provided to my mom and sister. It makes me feel very secure knowing there is a broad array of non-profit organizations within Ventura County, should they need or desire other services and resources.

I am so grateful for the services and resources that Our Promise has provided for my mom and sister. I am proud to call myself a donor and supporter of Our Promise. Thank you Our Promise and I pray that everyone continues to support you so people like my mom and sister can also enjoy the happiness that is a direct result of the many opportunities, experiences, laughs and blessings you provide.