The Right Supports Make All the Difference in Peoples’ Lives

I’m happy to share this story about how Mosaic helped a daughter and her mother both make their lives better by coming to Mosaic. 

Dawn Dresden said she was “overwhelmed, defeated, and worried” about her daughter Brooke’s quality of life in 2011. But four years later, that changed dramatically after Brooke moved to Mosaic.

“I now live a peaceful life, trusting that Brooke is in good hands, caring hands, and helpful hands. I know she is safe, happy, and thriving.”

Brooke’s life started with challenges. Because of complications during labor and an emergency C-section, Brooke spent the first 28 days of life in a neonatal intensive care unit. The family soon learned a lack of oxygen at birth would leave Brooke with lifetime intellectual and physical disabilities. That was in 1994. 

Dawn and her husband started doing everything they could for Brooke—Dawn even stopped working so she could be home full-time with her daughter. When seizures started affecting Brooke’s ability to breathe, the family moved to a larger city so they could be closer to a hospital. 

When Dawn and her husband divorced in 2001, Dawn said she and Brooke learned to “navigate life on our own. I was determined to give Brooke a full and happy life.” 

She was successful. Multiple surgeries for her hips and her vision did not deter Brooke, and she thrived in Special Olympics, participating in track and field, softball, and even cheerleading for basketball.

As she aged, the physical demands of caring for Brooke started taking a toll on Dawn.

“Over the years, lifting and transferring Brooke caused lasting injuries to my back, hip, and bladder,” she said. “By 2011, it was impossible for me to lift her. Having Brooke continue to remain in my sole care was not beneficial for either her or me.”

Four months before Brooke’s 21st birthday, Dawn tried to get Brooke into a residential program for people with disabilities. She was denied, she said, because it was stated that Brooke’s needs were being met at home—regardless of the toll it took on her mother.

But a simple conversation changed the direction of Brooke’s life.

Brooke had made a good friend, Lora, through an after-school program around 2009. That friendship continued, even after Lora moved to Beatrice, Nebraska, the home of one of Mosaic’s campuses. One day, after Brooke and Lora talked, Dawn told Lora about her concerns for her daughter.

Lora immediately suggested they apply to get Brooke accepted at Mosaic in Beatrice. Lora was a volunteer there.

Mosaic helped Dawn secure Medicaid funding, and on October 3, 2015, Brooke moved into her new home. It was the day she turned 21.

“As I stood sobbing in the doorway, my dad had to physically pull me out,” Dawn said. “Meanwhile, Brooke barely noticed I was leaving. She was too excited about unpacking her things.”

But seeing Brooke blossom with new skills and new activities quickly changed Dawn’s feelings.

“I soon began to hear Brooke’s vocabulary flourish when I spoke to her. Her social skills became stronger,” Dawn said. “She was happier, so her negative behaviors that she would display with me at times soon began being replaced with smiles and stories of things she was doing at Mosaic.”

Brooke is also very social, Dawn said, as she made new friends with whom she went to movies, concerts, shopping and more. She has even had a couple of boyfriends while living at Mosaic.

It’s not surprising, though, because Miranda Eckhoff, a staff member who has worked with Brooke for more than 10 years, said Brooke is fun to be around.

“Brooke’s personality is out of this world, and she is absolutely funny,” Miranda said. “She has a very contagious laugh, and whenever she starts giggling it is hard not to laugh along with her. She’s kind of our class clown over here, because she knows how to brighten everyone’s day.”

Miranda has gone many places with Brooke, she said. One of Brooke’s favorites is the zoo, and they recently visited the drive-through safari, located about an hour away from Beatrice.

“She loves all types of animals,” Miranda said. “If she’s watching TV, it has to be on Animal Planet. On her laptop is any video under the sun she can find about animals.”

Brooke’s story highlights how the right supports in the right environment make all the difference. Dawn credits Mosaic for making a positive difference in her daughter’s life.

“Brooke wouldn’t have had as many opportunities to live her life if I hadn’t made the decision to have her live at Mosaic,” Dawn said. “Mosaic led me to know that, even though a mother’s love is a mother’s love, there are people who can provide safety, happiness, love, respect, and support for Brooke such as I did.”