Latest / Minnesota Masonic Histories and Mysteries / Episode 17. Niki Lampi, Clinic Director (Duluth)

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Episode 17. Niki Lampi, Clinic Director (Duluth) · Minnesota Masonic Histories and Mysteries

• 0:36
  Good afternoon, evening, whenever you're listening to this thing.
• 0:40
  Uh, this is John Schwetz.
• 0:42
  I'm here with my pal, Steve Brown.
• 0:43
  Hello.
• 0:44
  And this is a crossover event.
• 0:48
  Do you know how like Chicago Fire, Chicago Med and Chicago, PD or Yes.
• 0:53
  Yes.
• 0:53
  A very special episode.
• 0:54
  A special episode.
• 0:55
  This one's not being produced by Dick Wolf, but this is a crossover event of Minnesota Masonic histories and myster.
• 1:02
  And cool.
• 1:03
  The Kindness Chronicles.
• 1:05
  Cool.
• 1:05
  Um, Steve and I, uh, co-host the Kindness Chronicles along with our friend, Kevin Gorg, who is on assignment.
• 1:12
  But, we've been talking about, connecting our audience with some of the organizations that we like to work with and one that I am very familiar with and that I've worked with for a number of years.
• 1:22
  An organization that, that is based in Duluth, Minnesota.
• 1:27
  And, uh, with us tonight we have the, uh, director of that organization, and I'll let her introduce the organization, what they do.
• 1:34
  But, uh, Nikki Lampe is with us today.
• 1:37
  Uh, Nikki, are you.
• 1:39
  I am.
• 1:40
  Hello, Nick.
• 1:40
  Hello, now all thank you so much for having me.
• 1:43
  Yes.
• 1:43
  Once upon a time we had interviewed Nicki, and this was when we were getting used to our podcast equipment and I could only hear her in one ear.
• 1:52
  Oh, that's right.
• 1:53
  It was mono instead of stereo.
• 1:56
  So, Wait, I think we've got this figured out.
• 1:58
  I hope you can hear it in both ears as you're listening to this.
• 2:01
  Uh, to this, we get the full lamp experience on this one.
• 2:03
  The full lamp experience.
• 2:05
  The full lamp experience.
• 2:06
  Nikki, tell us, I'm glad I could be the, the Guinea pig for you.
• 2:09
  You're the Guinea pig.
• 2:10
  Yes.
• 2:10
  Tell us about your organization and, uh, Just a little bit about how you got into the business that you are in.
• 2:20
  Sure.
• 2:20
  I would love to, well, again, my name is Lamp.
• 2:24
  I'm the director of the Masonic Children's Clinic for Communication Disorders in Dum.
• 2:30
  I, speech language pathologist.
• 2:31
  I've worked in the field for about 20 years now.
• 2:35
  Um, So weird to say Yeah.
• 2:38
  Cause you're only 35, which is incredible.
• 2:40
  Started young.
• 2:42
  I know.
• 2:42
  I started as a baby, so, um, so it's a amazing field and an amazing clinic to be part of, and I'm so grateful to be a part of it.
• 2:53
  Um, so the Masonic Children's Clinic for Communication Disorders is based in Duluth.
• 2:57
  And we see children ages birth to nine with communication disorders, um, which could be autism, down syndrome, um, general developmental delays, speech language delays, a whole variety of reasons.
• 3:13
  Kids might come to see us, um, and we see them for speech language therapy and audiology services, and we are completely free of.
• 3:22
  Well, how does that happen?
• 3:24
  Holy cow.
• 3:25
  It's a lot.
• 3:26
  I It's, it's amazing.
• 3:30
  It's, um, such a gift to be able to provide these services for these families.
• 3:34
  Um, so we are funded through grants and donations.
• 3:37
  So many of our, um, good friends and neighbors in Duluth and in Greater Minnesota are.
• 3:46
  Just very supportive of the clinic and the work that we do, and really give annually to make sure that we can provide these services to kids and families.
• 3:56
  Um, and it's really like no place else.
• 3:58
  You know, if you go to the medical setting, they're wonderful.
• 4:02
  I worked in the medical setting for years, but you're really restricted by insurance companies or, um, you know, families still have to pay copays and deductibles.
• 4:12
  Um, if you go to the schools, again, the schools are amazing and they provide wonderful care, but they're limited by their rules and regulations.
• 4:21
  So to be able to have a facility that can truly tailor itself to the needs of the children and families without worrying about those regulations and.
• 4:32
  Just really giving personalized care.
• 4:34
  It's just, it's such a gift.
• 4:37
  And full disclosure, I work with Nikki, Minnesota Masonic charities, several years ago, uh, decided that they wanted to get into this business.
• 4:47
  the Scottish Wright Clinic is what it was historically known for, what, 25 years.
• 4:53
  Yeah, about that.
• 4:53
  Yep.
• 4:54
  About 25 years, uh, had been doing a wonderful job.
• 4:57
  They built a brand new clinic and, uh, but the issue was, is that they had a supply and demand imbalance.
• 5:04
  There were way too many people that, that, that needed the services that are provided by the clinic.
• 5:11
  They had a very small staff at the time, oh, and Minnesota Masonic Charities because we'd been blessed with the.
• 5:18
  The gifts of, people that came before us that, left estate gifts and those type of things have provided us with the, uh, the resources to be able to, to some degree, answer that need and, uh, set off the imbalance between the supply and demand.
• 5:34
  We still have a bit of a waiting list, so there's still an opportunity to, uh, to improve our, uh, ability to fundraise.
• 5:41
  But the thing that really motivated me and the thing that, that I.
• 5:45
  Really thought made perfect sense for Minnesota Masonic Charities was this clinic had a fantastic reputation.
• 5:54
  They do amazing work and I was always bothered by the idea that, these people that are seen in hospital settings, those clinicians, those people that are, the speech language pathologists.
• 6:08
  Probably spend as much time navigating the insurance world.
• 6:10
  Yeah.
• 6:10
  And navigating, you know, the, they can't do what they're supposed to, what they're, what they're, they're gifted to do instead of doing what they are, uh, trained to do.
• 6:19
  Yeah.
• 6:19
  They get to do that, but it requires all this other stuff.
• 6:23
  So I think that, the efficiencies of, of this and the fact that we have people that are so generous to support this, make things for Nikki and her crew.
• 6:32
  Much more effective with the work that they get to do and the fact that they're not constricted time-wise, Many insurance companies will say, and Nikki, you can correct me if I'm making this up, cuz I do that from time to time.
• 6:44
  Mm-hmm.
• 6:45
  um, you know, we will underwrite the cost of, 10 sessions or something like that.
• 6:50
  But after 10 sessions, you're on your.
• 6:54
  10 sessions isn't necessarily gonna get you where you need to go.
• 6:57
  So Nikki, tell us about, why did you decide that this was the type of work that you wanted to pursue, and why, the Masonic Charities opportunity was, uh, was one that you were interested.
• 7:10
  Sure.
• 7:11
  Um, well, I knew in college I wanted to do something in the medical field, so I researched every possible medical career that was out there and none felt quite right.
• 7:23
  Um, I was really thinking of physical therapy for a while and then I realized I don't know that I wanna touch people that much.
• 7:29
  They're so hands on.
• 7:31
  Um, and that felt, that felt not right.
• 7:33
  And then I learned.
• 7:35
  Speech pathology.
• 7:36
  And I thought, can I interrupt you for one second?
• 7:39
  Um, I don't know if you're familiar with this story, but I myself was a pre-med major for about six weeks when I started college at St.
• 7:48
  Thomas's.
• 7:48
  You know story, Steve, I think I've ever heard it.
• 7:50
  I know that US again.
• 7:51
  So I was pre-med for six weeks and I think the main reason was, I thought it sounded.
• 7:56
  Um, I also thought that it would be good for marketing purposes when attracting, um, St.
• 8:01
  Thomas girls, Dr.
• 8:04
  Dr.
• 8:04
  John, you know, just the idea that I was, you know, choice pre-med.
• 8:07
  We had this book, pre-med, pre it just sounded sounds good.
• 8:10
  It just sounded good.
• 8:11
  Yeah, it sounded like a, it does have a ring to it.
• 8:13
  And then I took my first biology exam and I got a six.
• 8:20
  Out of what?
• 8:21
  Out of a bigger number?
• 8:23
  out of 100.
• 8:24
  I am not kidding you.
• 8:25
  Six.
• 8:25
  I got a six.
• 8:27
  Ooh.
• 8:27
  And I was a really good student in high school.
• 8:30
  I was.
• 8:31
  I, I, I was.
• 8:32
  I was good in science.
• 8:33
  I was good in all these things.
• 8:34
  Um, apparently I was not cut out for biology at a collegiate level, so I went to the, the professor who happened to be the chair of the department.
• 8:46
  Uh, his name was Dr.
• 8:47
  Sheer, and I said, Dr.
• 8:49
  Sheer, I do not believe that, uh, biology is for me.
• 8:54
  And he said, I believe that that's the first right answer you've had since you've been here.
• 8:59
  That's good.
• 9:00
  But he said, he goes, you had, there's something.
• 9:03
  So you should probably go to the, uh, to the counselor's office.
• 9:08
  And it was in the same building.
• 9:10
  You got some brains kid, ironically just not for medicine.
• 9:12
  Well, didn't say brains, but he just said there's something there, So I went down the, uh, the hall and I met with a counselor and I said, Um, what would you say is the easiest degree I could get while I'm here?
• 9:25
  because this clearly isn't working out for me.
• 9:28
  and I graduated a marketing major, so look at me.
• 9:30
  There you go.
• 9:31
  Look at me.
• 9:31
  Marketing, I was gonna say, or communications.
• 9:33
  So, marketing.
• 9:34
  I, I've, I am telling you my side of the story is marketing was the easiest opportunity.
• 9:42
  And, uh, mission accomplished.
• 9:44
  I, uh, look at me now.
• 9:46
  I studied communications, so yeah.
• 9:48
  And you studied communications, so we got a couple, there's a lot of brain power.
• 9:51
  Yeah.
• 9:51
  Involved of sixes.
• 9:53
  High octane.
• 9:54
  Couple of sixes here.
• 9:57
  So Nikki, you actually completed, uh, a degree related to the medical field, so congratulations for that.
• 10:06
  Yeah, Well, thank you.
• 10:08
  Where did you go?
• 10:08
  Did you go to U M D?
• 10:10
  So I did, I went to UMB for my undergraduate.
• 10:13
  Um, oh, and then backing up, um, just, just the tad I learned about speech pathology and what really kind of pulled me in was that idea of there's people out there that can't communicate, that can't talk and that can't understand, and then, you know, my 20 year old brain, I had never thought of that before and I just, it was so profound to me the idea of.
• 10:40
  what if you couldn't share yourself with the world?
• 10:43
  And what if you couldn't understand what your loved ones were trying to tell you?
• 10:48
  And you know, now you're telling me there's a field where I can help people that are going through this.
• 10:53
  It was just like, it just clicked.
• 10:56
  I'm like, this is, this is where I need to be.
• 10:59
  So yes, I went to UMD for my undergrad and my graduate schools.
• 11:03
  Um, amazing program there just so.
• 11:06
  um, really based in the community.
• 11:09
  There's such good support through the school system, through the medical system, um, through the clinic where I work now.
• 11:16
  We, you know, took interns at that time and we still do, and it was just a wonderful path to follow.
• 11:23
  And you, uh, right out of school, where did you go to?
• 11:29
  So right outta school, I went down to the cities.
• 11:32
  Um, my boyfriend at the time, who's known, my husband was living there.
• 11:34
  So, um, we lived there for about 12 years.
• 11:39
  Oh.
• 11:39
  And while I was there, I, I worked in a school, um, I worked in a hospital setting in pediatrics with children, um, very sick children.
• 11:50
  Um, I did acute care and.
• 11:54
  Was really hard.
• 11:55
  It was beautiful.
• 11:56
  It was great families and kids that I met, but uh, you know, many of'em passed away and it was heartbreaking.
• 12:02
  And I And you're still doing speech pathology speech work at the time this?
• 12:06
  Yep.
• 12:06
  This is speech pathology.
• 12:07
  Okay.
• 12:07
  In the hospital setting with pediatrics.
• 12:09
  So kids, um, kids with cancer, kids in the bone marrow transplant unit, kids with different genetic disorders.
• 12:15
  And clinically it was fascinating.
• 12:19
  But it broke my heart, like I, I've just fallen in love with my patients and.
• 12:25
  It just wasn't, I, I just have so much respect for the people who do that every day.
• 12:30
  Cause it's heartbreaking to go in and realize this, this kiddo that you were working with for a month, um, didn't make it.
• 12:37
  Yeah.
• 12:37
  You know, it's, it's funny, I talk to young people from time to time about, you know, what their career aspirations are and.
• 12:44
  You know, when you get a person that talks about the fact that they, you know, they like to be, you know, pediatrics, you know, it, you almost have to remind them that, that we're not talking about dealing with cute little babies all the time.
• 12:57
  I mean, they're usually cute, very cute babies, but they're, you know, their stories and their situations are, are heartbreaking.
• 13:04
  Mm-hmm.
• 13:05
  Mm-hmm.
• 13:05
  and, and, you know, frankly, the, uh, the patients that you get while, um, you know, medically.
• 13:13
  They don't seem to be suffering.
• 13:15
  Um, they are suffering.
• 13:18
  You know, they, you know, the inability to communicate, uh, has got to be very frustrating for young people.
• 13:25
  And, uh, before, before we get into that, tell, how did you find your way to the, uh, the Masonic uh, clinic?
• 13:33
  Sure.
• 13:34
  So from there I went to outpatient therapy, which I was perfect cause my kids were, were healthy and happy and they were.
• 13:44
  I could really some.
• 13:46
  Um, and then up moving back to Duluth, um, husband, both have family up here.
• 13:52
  So we moved here and I started out in the medical setting.
• 13:55
  And, um, you know, really through my whole career and even graduate school, I knew of the clinic at the.
• 14:01
  Scottish, right.
• 14:02
  Um, and really worked closely, you know, with them.
• 14:06
  Um, several of my mentors were there.
• 14:09
  Um, so I would call them on occasion just to ask for some guidance on cases.
• 14:14
  And, um, when I lived in Duluth, I would often refer patients to the clinic, um, clinic, Mount Children's, um, because the service.
• 14:25
  So different than what we could provide in the medical setting and really anywhere else that, um, yeah, they, they're just so well known.
• 14:34
  We're so well known in the community that, um, people send kids our way because we're very good at what we do.
• 14:41
  I remember, um, you know, uh, early on when Masonic Charities was just a financial supporter of, uh, of the clinic, um, I would hear these stories about people coming from as far away as Michigan, you know?
• 14:58
  Mm-hmm.
• 14:58
  across the state of Wisconsin, all the way to Duluth, Minnesota, because not only, you know, obviously it was, it was free.
• 15:08
  but it was the best care that they could find for their, uh, their kids' situation.
• 15:12
  I remember Bessemer, Michigan, there was a woman that twice a week would drive, uh, her wow.
• 15:18
  Young boy who I think had, was on the autism spectrum.
• 15:22
  Um, but she found what she was looking for at that clinic and, uh mm-hmm The rest is history and, um, Nikki.
• 15:34
  As this, uh, you know, is both the, uh, the Masonic Histories and mysteries, but also the Kindness Chronicles.
• 15:40
  Um, I first must acknowledge the, uh, your staff.
• 15:43
  um, mm-hmm.
• 15:44
  your staff.
• 15:45
  There is magic in that building.
• 15:47
  Uh, every time I come in, I mean, just the, the, the kindness that is shown, you know, not just to me, but to everybody that comes through the door.
• 15:56
  One of my favorite things to do, Steve, and I'm, I'm here in the studio looking across the table here at Steve.
• 16:02
  When I am in that little conference room by, right by the front door, and these little people come in and they come running in and they are so excited to see their really, their therapists and the families, just, there's such an energy, um mm-hmm.
• 16:18
  And, you know, I always say I wish our donors could see how meaningful this is to the people that we are taking care of.
• 16:25
  Mm-hmm.
• 16:26
  Mm-hmm.
• 16:26
  Um, it's just, it's, it's, it's incredible.
• 16:30
  Tell us about some of, uh, of those stories, uh, that will warm our hearts Um, I'm gonna ask you to tell us a little bit about our friend Noble, a little bit about our friend, Theo.
• 16:42
  Um, those are two guys that have, uh, have, you know, become, you know, sort of, uh, near and dear to those of us that, uh, that are in the fundraising side of the business because their stories are just so you know, compelling.
• 16:57
  Right.
• 16:58
  I'm happy to share those stories.
• 17:00
  Um, just so many amazing families that come in, and you're exactly right.
• 17:05
  There's, there's an energy when you come into the clinic.
• 17:08
  And even me being a speech pathologist and full of words like I can't, you can't describe it.
• 17:14
  There's no words to describe it.
• 17:17
  Um, the closest I can come is, is maybe hope and trust and fun and joy.
• 17:25
  Um, and it really comes through.
• 17:28
  I mean, we build relationships with these families and kids.
• 17:31
  Um, part of what makes our program different is we're very family focused.
• 17:36
  So we have families, we have parents in every session so that we're not just teaching the child what to do, we're teaching the parents.
• 17:45
  How to teach their child, um, when they're outside of therapy.
• 17:49
  So it's not that you're just getting two sessions a week, you're learning to get intervention all throughout week.
• 17:56
  Parents are learning too.
• 17:57
  The parents, yeah.
• 17:57
  Right.
• 17:58
  Right's.
• 17:59
  Beautiful.
• 17:59
  Um, so Noble is a little guy who came, um, he had a speech Express receptive language disorder.
• 18:07
  I think he was maybe four when he.
• 18:10
  Um, maybe three, might have been a little younger.
• 18:13
  And he worked with Serena, who all of Serena's kids fall in love with her She's so much fun.
• 18:20
  she has a special connection with her kiddos.
• 18:22
  They, um, they just really, she just really gets them, um, at a really basic level.
• 18:29
  She has training in, um, What is it called?
• 18:34
  Um, d i r.
• 18:36
  So individual relationship type intervention.
• 18:40
  So she really figures these kids out at a basic level and Noble and her have this really strong relationship.
• 18:47
  She's teaching.
• 18:47
  Mom, these are things you can do to help Noble communicate at home.
• 18:51
  These are things you can do to help him understand what's going on around what's going on in his life.
• 18:57
  Noble at the time could not say his.
• 19:00
  He didn't understand what his name was and that it referred to himself.
• 19:05
  And if you've ever seen a, a little child who first learns their name, it's a huge deal.
• 19:12
  Um, I remember my littlest, um, who's five now, and she was kinda that two or three year old age.
• 19:18
  Aubrey.
• 19:19
  Aubrey.
• 19:19
  I'm Aubrey.
• 19:19
  My name is Aubrey.
• 19:20
  I'm Aubrey.
• 19:21
  Aubrey.
• 19:21
  My name, my name Aubrey, just really focused on it because it was a sense of identity and so to have this little boy come in and not.
• 19:31
  Understand or know how to say, Hey, this is me world.
• 19:35
  This is who I am and what I, what I wanna tell you.
• 19:39
  Um, you know, it's a simple thing like a name, but it's a huge, huge impact.
• 19:45
  Yeah.
• 19:45
  So Serena worked with him and one day him and his mom were there and he said, I'm noble, my name is Noble.
• 19:57
  And it was, It's just an amazing moment.
• 20:01
  Was mom in there when that happened?
• 20:04
  Yes.
• 20:06
  What'd she do?
• 20:08
  And just, yeah, tears, of course.
• 20:10
  Oh, celebration.
• 20:11
  And, and, um, it's just beautiful.
• 20:14
  And, and, and I'll, I'll tell you that, uh, Noble's mom and dad, uh, they, we asked them to tell their story at one of our fundraising events, and there wasn't a dry eye in the place and.
• 20:27
  You know, if you meet Noble now, tell us about Noble today.
• 20:32
  So Noble today is boy, is he?
• 20:34
  Eight or nine now.
• 20:36
  Wow.
• 20:37
  He's a big kid and he, um, he's very sweet.
• 20:40
  I haven't seen him now for a while, but playing and talking and telling stories and, you know, he'd come in and visit with the friend desk staff and he was just a riot.
• 20:52
  He was, He was just chatting them up, you know, it's really interesting.
• 20:56
  Oh, really Great.
• 20:57
  Um, Dale Carnegie, uh, you may have be familiar with the name Dale Carnegie.
• 21:01
  Mm-hmm.
• 21:01
  Mm-hmm.
• 21:01
  He always talked about the fact that, uh, the most beautiful sound that a person can hear is the sound of their own name, you know?
• 21:09
  Mm-hmm.
• 21:10
  And, and to think about the fact that, you know, if you can't produce that sound for.
• 21:18
  Yeah.
• 21:18
  How just awful.
• 21:20
  That must be.
• 21:21
  It's by saying your name and you, I'm sure you know exactly what this all means, but to be able to say your name and it kind of deepens your understanding of who you are and like, it's, it's a very deep moment.
• 21:30
  Right.
• 21:31
  So that's so, that's so cool.
• 21:32
  It's almost like, I imagine the moment when you see these videos of kids that can hear for the first time.
• 21:37
  Oh yeah.
• 21:37
  Parents, everyone sees that.
• 21:38
  Those are, those are just beautiful moments.
• 21:41
  Put on their glasses, they put on, you know, like they could seek care for the first time.
• 21:45
  I could watch those videos all day long.
• 21:48
  A couple SAPs.
• 21:49
  We are, we're, I think we're a couple of SAPs we're, well, and it's a safety thing for kids too.
• 21:53
  There's a, there's a person who's an adult now with AP Apraxia and he tells this story.
• 21:58
  Uh, so apraxia is a motor speech disorder, so you have a hard time sequencing the sounds and, and, um, movements and voice to communicate.
• 22:06
  So he wasn't able to really say anything when he was in grade school and he got lost in the.
• 22:13
  And teachers were coming out and saying, well, who are you?
• 22:16
  Oh boy.
• 22:17
  Oh boy.
• 22:17
  You know, what's your name?
• 22:19
  And he couldn't answer him.
• 22:20
  Oh, he's confused.
• 22:21
  And, and just, he talks about how scary that was.
• 22:27
  um, because you're so vulnerable as a child.
• 22:29
  Yeah.
• 22:30
  We take things for granted and not be able to, don't we?
• 22:32
  We do.
• 22:32
  Mm-hmm.
• 22:33
  Um, I, I would also like you to tell us, because this guy, uh, so Serena was, uh, was the, the, uh, the magic that happened for Noble.
• 22:44
  Um, Theo was also a, uh, a young man, or is a young man.
• 22:49
  Who, uh, we got to meet Theo and he is, was a, a, a patient of, uh, Jillian's.
• 22:55
  Mm-hmm.
• 22:56
  and Jillian has kind of a unique, uh, a gift herself.
• 23:00
  Why don't you tell us about Theo and Jillian?
• 23:02
  Sure.
• 23:03
  So Theo is a young man with cerebral palsy.
• 23:07
  He is in a wheelchair, and when he came to us, he was nonverbal, meaning he could not produce any meaningful words or speech.
• 23:15
  Um, he had been in therapy in the past.
• 23:17
  I think he was about five when he came to see us.
• 23:20
  Um, so they were just working on some general, um, communications, things maybe with some eye gaze, you know, look, look this way.
• 23:28
  If you want this object or this way, if you want this other object.
• 23:32
  And he was fortunate to meet Jillian, who is an expert in aac, which is augmentative and Alternative Communication.
• 23:42
  So that part of our field is very specialized.
• 23:46
  Quickly changes.
• 23:48
  I am not proficient in it.
• 23:50
  I'm very comfortable to say not many speech pathologists are.
• 23:53
  It's just a very, um, specialized part of our field.
• 23:58
  So Jillian has a gift with this.
• 24:01
  She meets and she says, this is a really smart kid.
• 24:06
  He is just limited by his body, but his brain.
• 24:11
  Just on fire.
• 24:12
  Yeah.
• 24:13
  There's so much going on in there.
• 24:14
  He needs an I Gaze device.
• 24:16
  Explain one.
• 24:17
  Yeah.
• 24:18
  There you go.
• 24:18
  Yep.
• 24:19
  Yep.
• 24:19
  So it's a, it's a computer that is calibrated to his eyes, his face, so we can program different pictures on there.
• 24:28
  Um, different, different requests.
• 24:30
  And all he has to do is look at the picture and the computer will say it.
• 24:36
  Cool.
• 24:37
  So we have this five year old.
• 24:39
  is that kind of what, like Steven Hawking?
• 24:41
  Is that how he communicated?
• 24:44
  Um, yes.
• 24:45
  Okay.
• 24:45
  I dunno if he had I gaze or if he had a different pointer device.
• 24:48
  Okay.
• 24:49
  I'm not sure.
• 24:49
  But it was something in that AAC world.
• 24:52
  Yes.
• 24:53
  Okay.
• 24:53
  In that computerized technology world.
• 24:56
  So we get this kiddo who hasn't been able to communicate within the first week of trialing his.
• 25:05
  Was, I'm gonna, it's gonna make me cry again.
• 25:09
  Um, that's what we're hoping will happen.
• 25:11
  Say it again.
• 25:12
  I'm sorry.
• 25:12
  I spoke over you.
• 25:14
  Oh, that's ok.
• 25:15
  I do get choked up though.
• 25:16
  Um, this five year old for the first time was able to say, mom, I love you.
• 25:22
  Dad, I love you.
• 25:23
  Oh my.
• 25:24
  I want play.
• 25:26
  Um, I remember Tickle me, wasn't tickle me.
• 25:29
  One of Tickle So yeah.
• 25:31
  So they programmed in, dad Tickled.
• 25:34
  So how did mom and dad react to that?
• 25:36
  Oh God.
• 25:37
  Oh, I don know that they could function for about a week.
• 25:43
  they were beside themselves.
• 25:46
  Um, And was hilarious with it.
• 25:49
  Cause he would do it.
• 25:49
  He'd say, dad tickle me.
• 25:51
  And dad would come and tickle him and they'd laugh and he would just, he would do it over and over and over.
• 25:57
  like, can you imagine?
• 25:59
  So here's this working, here's this little guy who is uh, uh, essentially a, uh, a prisoner in this body that doesn't work, but it's got a brain that, that he's five.
• 26:10
  So he's firing on all cylinders.
• 26:13
  And to be able to find that is just, It's just, I, as a parent, he was just wiping the tears.
• 26:19
  Hey, it's, he was, I'm an emotional guy.
• 26:21
  That's, that's amazing.
• 26:22
  And as a parent, I think about it as a parent or as a grandparent.
• 26:25
  Like how, how amazing is that?
• 26:27
  They must have just been, like you said, beside themselves, just with the idea that they can now communicate with their little baby for the first time.
• 26:34
  That's crazy.
• 26:36
  The first time.
• 26:36
  That's crazy.
• 26:37
  Yeah.
• 26:37
  Well, mom and dad.
• 26:39
  Mom and dad came and spoke at, uh, one of the events that we had, and dad has a voice that ought to be on radio.
• 26:46
  The guy has just got these just deep pipes.
• 26:50
  And, um, do you recall Nicki, or do you want me to tell the story as I recall it?
• 26:57
  Um, he was about to start kindergarten.
• 27:01
  Mm-hmm.
• 27:02
  And from what I understand, um, They never thought that he would be able to go to like conventional school.
• 27:11
  Like he wouldn't be able to fit in.
• 27:13
  Yeah.
• 27:13
  and as it turns out, because we, talked to him, uh, the dad after the fact, not only did he, was he able to, to go to regular kindergarten, he was this popular little guy because he was in the cool wh.
• 27:30
  And he had the robot voice and dad describes the fact that, he started having play dates.
• 27:38
  Yeah.
• 27:38
  Which, something that you take for granted as a parent, but the idea that they didn't Yeah.
• 27:44
  That, you know how meaningful that is.
• 27:47
  Yeah.
• 27:48
  For a kid to have a fricking play date.
• 27:50
  Yeah.
• 27:51
  Have friends.
• 27:51
  Yeah.
• 27:53
  It's amazing.
• 27:53
  Very cool.
• 27:55
  It's huge.
• 27:56
  It's, he is such a cool kid and the, the whole family is just amazing.
• 28:02
  I just, wanted to get an opportunity, Nikki, to talk to you a little bit about the work that's done at the clinic.
• 28:08
  Um, there are a lot of people that listen to this podcast that have been, uh, supporters, so we want you all to know just how meaningful your support is.
• 28:16
  One of the things that Minnesota Masonic Charities, we do big philanthropy, we do big gifts to the University of Minnesota.
• 28:23
  Help cure cancer in the Masonic Children's Hospital.
• 28:26
  Big stuff, you know, to, to, we do big stuff.
• 28:28
  Yeah.
• 28:29
  And then we do stuff that's much more personal, like the work that we do at the Masonic home.
• 28:33
  We know those people, those people we take care of.
• 28:36
  But I don't think that there's anything more personal.
• 28:39
  That we do as an organization and the, the work that's done at the Masonic clinic up in Duluth, not only do you impact the lives of those children, but the lives of their families.
• 28:49
  And it was really fun this last year we had our first, fundraising, dinner in several years cuz of c And there was a young guy that was there who, had some developmental, um, delays and I don't remember specifically what it was, but he was a young man who, was unable to communicate when he was a little kid, and now he, he, he went from being the manager of the U M D football or a basketball team basketball.
• 29:17
  Mm-hmm.
• 29:18
  to you made it very clear.
• 29:20
  that he was an assistant coach.
• 29:21
  He wasn't just a an assistant manager.
• 29:24
  He was an assistant coach of that team.
• 29:27
  And when the fundraising opportunity came, Jonah raised his hand and gave his own money to the, uh, to the clinic.
• 29:36
  Mm-hmm.
• 29:37
  which it just, I mean it, the, the, it came full circle.
• 29:40
  Very cool.
• 29:41
  You have, uh, in a couple of weeks you have an outreach week and uh mm-hmm.
• 29:45
  the outreach week is something that I think is especially unique.
• 29:49
  Can you just give us a brief overview of what outreach weeks look like and how they're different than anything else that's available out there?
• 29:57
  Sure.
• 29:58
  So our outreach week, um, we don't see our kids in clinic for the week.
• 30:03
  Some we might, but for the most part, we schedule visits out in the community to see them.
• 30:08
  So we might go to a school or a daycare, or we might see child in their home.
• 30:14
  Um, we've even seen them at like the library or the grocery store or wherever.
• 30:19
  Families are saying, Hey, we really need help in this part of the community, getting our child involved and getting them comfort.
• 30:25
  So they're like next level house calls.
• 30:29
  It's like a next level house call.
• 30:30
  Exactly.
• 30:31
  Um, and it's, you know, kids are all of us, you know, when you go to the doctor's office, that's one blip in time.
• 30:40
  It's not your whole life.
• 30:42
  It's not all of your different surroundings.
• 30:44
  So we get such a different view of our kids when we're able to go and see them where they are, you know, for 99% of their time.
• 30:55
  It's really a unique experience for us and a great way to tailor our therapy services even further to these kids and families.
• 31:06
  So, for example, one of my children that I saw in therapy, he was really engaged.
• 31:12
  He was funny and silly and talkative, and I went and I saw him at his daycare.
• 31:17
  And he was a, like a whole different person there.
• 31:19
  He was quiet, he was timid, he friends weren't coming up to him to talk.
• 31:27
  He wasn't going up to them to talk.
• 31:29
  He was really just kinda on his own.
• 31:32
  And it was such a different picture of the kiddo that came to see me.
• 31:37
  Um, in the clinic and I thought, wow, we really need to change what we're doing in the clinic to help support these social skills for when he is with his peers, because that's his life.
• 31:50
  You know, his life isn't in the clinic with me, his daycare, with his friends, and, um, It's, it's really important for us to see the children in different environments so we can make sure that we're giving them the best care that we can give them.
• 32:05
  That's a good, that's a good insight that you guys have to, to think that through and see that there's another part of it.
• 32:10
  Mm-hmm.
• 32:10
  and it's not all great because you think you're doing a great job cuz they're so happy when with you.
• 32:15
  But that's a great insight.
• 32:16
  That's pretty cool.
• 32:17
  What a what?
• 32:17
  A what a great idea.
• 32:19
  It's, yeah, it's amazing and it's really unique to our clinic.
• 32:22
  Um, you know, in the medical setting you can't do that cause of billing purposes.
• 32:27
  Um, schools, of course, they're, they're stuck with what they have in the school, so they're not able to see what they might be doing at home with their siblings or friends.
• 32:37
  So outreach weeks are very powerful.
• 32:41
  Um, and it's really a great way to.
• 32:44
  To just make sure we're doing the right thing for our kids to really make sure that we are giving them what they need and not just what we think they need based on what we see in the session.
• 32:55
  Yeah, and just to be very clear, you know, it, it, it kind of feels like we're disparaging the work that's done in the medical setting.
• 33:02
  We are not doing that at all.
• 33:04
  Mm-hmm.
• 33:04
  or, or what, you know, it's, it's different, you know, and to me it just augments the work that's being done at home, at the work that's being done in the schools.
• 33:13
  And uh, you know, it's just we have the flexibility to do things differently and, uh mm-hmm.
• 33:19
  it, it's very mindful.
• 33:21
  It really does take a village.
• 33:22
  I mean, we don't work just on our own.
• 33:24
  Our outreach weeks, um, involve us going to the medical setting maybe, or going to the schools and talking with them.
• 33:31
  You know, we really, we don't view ourselves as competition in the area.
• 33:36
  We view ourselves as part of the care team for these children.
• 33:39
  Um, We can't give them what they get in the medical setting where they have physical therapy and occupational therapy and maybe dietician and psychology, you know, and that team approach that's very different.
• 33:53
  Than what we provide so they can get those needs met.
• 33:57
  And cause we don't bill, they can come to us and we can provide that family education, that one-on-one support, um, that in depth home programming, that outreach.
• 34:08
  Um, so it's really, it's really a nice collaboration.
• 34:13
  You know, the schools have the beauty of this is their school life and here are their peers and their teachers, and they get to really support the child in that environment.
• 34:23
  You need that.
• 34:24
  Um, so I do feel like all three make this really nice dynamic of care for kids in our community.
• 34:31
  Well, Nikki, I, uh, just want to thank you for your time.
• 34:35
  Uh, again, it's so grateful for you and your staff and the work that you do, and it's just, So meaningful for Masonic Charities to, uh, to be able to attach our brand to the work that's being done up there.
• 34:50
  Um, it just as, as Masons and as people that, uh, that, you know, are trying to make a meaningful impact in the community, we can see.
• 34:59
  Firsthand the kind of, uh, impact that, uh, that we are doing as an organization.
• 35:04
  So I want to thank you for, uh, for visiting with us here.
• 35:09
  Uh, uh, we're taping kind of late at night and, uh, I'm sure your family's probably wondering what is Mom doing at this moment?
• 35:17
  That's a long conference call.
• 35:18
  So, uh, Aubrey is probably done saying Aubrey.
• 35:22
  Aubrey, Aubrey.
• 35:23
  But she's probably wondering where mommy, mommy, mommy is.
• 35:25
  She's then Mommy, mommy, mommy.
• 35:27
  Absolutely All right, well thank you so much for your time and, uh, we, uh, look forward to, uh, more meaningful, uh, conversations with you as time goes on.
• 35:36
  Thanks Nikki.
• 35:37
  Well, thanks so much for having us.
• 35:39
  And I have to say too, thank you to the donors that are listening.
• 35:42
  Means the world to these kids and families.
• 35:45
  I mean, you really are changing lives by doing this.
• 35:49
  So thank you so much for your support, uh, indeed.
• 35:52
  Uh, wonderful.
• 35:54
  And uh, we'll talk to you soon.
• 35:56
  All right.
• 35:57
  Thanks.