Dr. Jim Powell
VisionQuest
KidsQuest Wagon Train
Dear Dr. Powell and Staff:
Words are just not powerful enough to thank you and each of the
staff members at Vision Quest for the wonderful job you all did
in working with our son, XXXXX.
We had not seen or communicated directly with XXXXX for 7 long
weeks. Our first in-person contact with XXXXX occurred when both
of us and XXXXX's 6 year old brother, flew out for the Wagon Train
graduation ceremony in Tucson on November 8th. The first glimpse
we had was XXXXX in the dentist’s chair having his braces removed;
the orthodontist was kind enough to let us all go in there and
hug him. A bit later, XXXXX came into the waiting room and received
a family hug; he was now a full grown young man about 2-3 inches
taller and about 10 lbs. heavier than last time we’d seen him.
Ken was extremely gracious and patient to explain in detail how
the Wagon Train worked and to help us to adjust to this new situation.
What was immediately evident was that XXXXX had grown up so much,
being more open and communicative with us. The long days on the
Wagon Train had worked their “magic”; XXXXX was appreciative of
the family and stated that he was ready to go home. The banquet
itself was an effective way to wrap up the program. He was especially
proud, as were we, when Dan awarded his certificate of completion
and performed the “feather pat-down ceremony” and then moved XXXXX’s
pin from his sleeve to his knee to mark that XXXXX had achieved
full-fledged “EgeeleQuestor” status.
I can’t say enough about how well Mary Alice interacted with
us and how she handled a difficult situation that arose. After
our arrival at VisionQuest, Mary Alice met with us and went over
thoroughly the discharge report and her impressions of XXXXX’s
progress in the program. By later that evening at the banquet,
XXXXX had already put a lot of energy into trying to talk us into
allowing him to come straight home rather than to Coral Reef in
Samoa. Once he knew that going to Coral Reef was a certainty,
he shut down for a half hour or so. Mary Alice quickly picked
up on the situation and took XXXXX aside for a private conversation.
After some reflection, XXXXX began to accept the fact that he
was going to Samoa, and he was able to join in the rest of the
banquet as a full participant. This was quite a contrast to how
he might have handled his strong emotions 7 weeks ago.
XXXXX is now in Samoa and is in the two week orientation phase.
As Mary Alice and Dan had encouraged him, he ended strong at Vision
Quest and seems to be starting strong at Coral Reef Academy.
We know that a myriad of staff work together to make a complex
organization such as Vision Quest work smoothly and effectively.
We have not met or personally interacted with everyone that worked
behind the scenes in helping XXXXX’s journey. But we got first-hand
experience of the quality of care that the staff provides—from
Ken’s willingness to accompany XXXXX to his appointments, to Dan’s
efforts to coordinate XXXXX’s transition from KidsQuest, to Mary
Alice’s efforts to effect a smooth transition, to Brandi’s efforts
as liaison, to your own regular communications to us re XXXXX’s
progress, and on down to the office staff person in Tucson (whose
name I forget—Julie?) who helped us find a dentist who could remove
XXXXX’s braces. To each and every one of you, whether working
behind the scenes or directly with XXXXX, we thank you from the
bottom of our hearts for following your passion and using your
gifts in the service of the development of our son and the healing
process for our family. If you’ve ever wondered, “Do I make a
difference?” we can unequivocally say that yes, you have made
a difference, and for that we are grateful.
With heartfelt thanks and appreciation,
Mark
and Tammy Hoyer
Davis, CA
XXXXX’s parents
