Welcome to Beachview Dreams Foundation...
where the beginning of the boardwalk is the start of Dream Vacations!
Meet our 2016 Dreamers!
Jacob
Joseph
Bryelle
Jacob is a 15 yr old boy who is wheelchair bound and non-verbal. He has a rare neuro- genetic disease called CDKL5 and relies on his mom for his 24x7 care. As Jacob does not speak, it is difficult to find things that he enjoys but also that are accessible and easy for me to care for him. Jacob enjoys being outside and at the beach. The salt air is good for his respiratory issues. As he gets older and grows it is getting more difficult to lift him up stairs even with help, which means it is difficult to find a beach house that is not only accessible but has enough room for the daily equipment needed at home. This would also allow us to have "family time" with no nurses in our home. The nurses are wonderful but always having someone in our home is difficult. This would allow us to have one on one time with Jake.
Joseph (Jojo) is a 7 year old who lives at home with his Mom and twin brother Dominic. Jojo has Cerebral Palsy, PVL, overall developmental delay, Hypotonia, is non-verbal with Dysphagia, a feeding tube and mild vision and hearing issues. Jojo loves going to school at The Children’s Therapy Center (CTC Academy) in Fair Lawn, NJ where he has the best therapists and teachers. Jojo’s medical issues are managed by a great team at Hackensack University Medical Center.
Joseph is a very happy little man with an infectious smile that melts all those that meet him. Jojo loves to swim and horseback ride but when at home his favorite past time is watching his two favorite cartoons Peppa Pig and Teen Titans Go! Jojo is able to walk with assistance and he loves the freedom of walking around the house in his walker, the hope is one day he can walk on his own. Jojo’s first trip to the Jersey Shore was last year and he loved the beach and the ocean and to have a full week at Beachview Dream’s with his family is truly a dream come true!
Bryelle is a happy 7 year old who was diagnosed with Spina-Bifida at 5 months gestation. Spina-Bifida is a neural tube defect, in which a portion of the neural tube fails to develop or close properly, causing defects in the spinal cord and in the bones of the spine and generally requires surgery within 24 to 48 hours of birth, Bryelle was 26 hours old when she had surgery to close the defect. We have been very fortunate in that Bryelle has only needed to have the 1 surgery, and a few outpatient procedures over the last 7 years.
Bryelle is currently followed by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) every 6 months and she gets physical therapy at school. She wears leg braces (MAFO’s) and uses forearm crutches to assist her walking.
Bryelle lives at home with mom and her cat Chloe. She is in first grade and is not a big fan of school or homework. She enjoys playing with her toys and her friends. She loves going to the beach and is super excited about our week long stay with Beach View Dreams, this will be our first week long family vacation, and Bryelle’s first time in Ocean City NJ!
A huge THANK YOU to everyone that supports Beach View Dreams, without you, these vacations would not be possible.
Jaylia
Jaylia is 11 1/2 years old and lives at home with her mother and older sister. She atteneds Widener Memorial School and is in 4th grade. Jaylia has cerebral palsy and has a lot of physical limitations and developmental delays. She wears braces to assist her with her walking but is not yet walking all by herself She's very determined!
At school she receives PT and OT, speech and special ed which is great as she can receive these services until the 12th grade. This year has been a great year for Jaylia because she has become much more verbal and is getting around better and becoming much more independent Her intake is even greater, also. Jaylia loves oatmeal, pepperoni, chicken patties, and french fries. She loves the water -all sources of it. She has had physical therapy in water since she was 6 months. She loves being outside and going to the park with her older sister. She is happy to learn how to play board games.
This is going to be a great experience for Jaylia. She just cant get enough of the beach After being told about the Beachview Dreams vacation, she has been non-stop asking about when she's going! You should just see her joyful face just knowing she is going to be so close to the water. This is such a blessing as having a special needs child can be hard. This is like Jaylia's first vacation. We can't wait for this wonderful trip and to celebrate her 12th birthday at Beachview Dreams. We Thank You so much!
Jaime
Michael
Michael is 40 years old, and is very independent. He lives alone with his Labrador, Sasha. He is currently in the process of getting his driver’s license and purchasing a van to be even more independent. He has an ebay business, "M&M SportsCards and More."
Michael's kidneys failed when he was 21 years old and he started hemodialysis treatments 3 times per week. He has received two kidney transplants, both of which have been rejected and is currently back on hemodialysis.
At the age of 26 he developed Calciphylaxis (kal-sih-fuh-LAK-sis) a serious, uncommon disease in which calcium accumulates in small blood vessels of the fat and skin tissues. Calciphylaxis causes painful skin ulcers, may cause serious infections, and even death. To save his life both his legs were amputated above the thigh in late 2001. Michael has a great sense of humor, every year rather than celebrate his birthday he has an annual "I ain't dead yet party". He enjoys entertaining and spending time with his family and friends. He also enjoys playing video games, watching sports and movies.
Jim
Jim has served as a public servant for the past 48 years as an EMT, Paramedic, Firefighter, Worked for a paid fire department in Arizona working his way up to the position of Captain, and was a volunteer Fire Chief for a fire company near Pittsburgh.
In the past few years Jim and his
wife have gone through some health situations, Fran had to have a pacemaker/Defibrillator implanted for
cardiomyopathy. About this time Jim was diagnosed with prostate cancer and went through surgery and several treatment procedures for the last 6 years, including oral chemo on a daily basis. Jim went to work for a medical transport helicopter company in Pittsburgh during this time. One morning while leaving work Jim had an unfortunate accident by falling and having a double spiral fracture. Over the past 5 years, he's had 4 major surgeries, along with therapy in a rehab facility. Due to the extent of the injury Jim had to have his foot and ankle fused together with 4 screws holding it in place, and has now ended up having his other leg lose all nerves causing him to have drop foot. He now has stress fractures to both feet due to his falls. Jim walks short distances with the help of a cane, and uses a scooter to get around other places. For a man who was always very active it has taken its toll on his health. Jim and Fran have not been on a vacation for over 6 years, and are looking forward to coming to Beachview Dreams for some rest and relaxation. Jim and Fran love the Steelers!
Lora
Written by her sister, Grace
Jaime is almost 40 years old and is married with two children. She has Nuerofibromatosis, type two. It's a central nervous system disorder that causes tumors to grow on the brain spine and any nerve in the body. She currently has seven brain tumors and over 30 tumors inside of her spinal cord that are all in operable, and one very large peripheral nerve tumor in her right leg. The tumors are benign but at anytime they can turn cancerous and can take an accelerated rapid growth and take over. She’s currently receiving Avastin infusions once every two weeks at Jefferson hospital in an attempt to stop the tumors from growing and multiplying. She’ll be on chemo for the rest of her life, or until they find a cure. She lost sight in her right eye and hearing in her left ear. Her vestibular system has failed completely and she has daily chronic pain in her neck, back, and leg.
Since there is currently no cure for this disorder, Jaime relies on maintenance drugs and treatments such as chemo surgery or radiation. Only one time, in a life or death situation, she had a cervical laminectomy to remove a tumor that was compressing her spinal cord. Having it removed was a 50% chance of waking up quadriplegic. Her mother was paralyzed Jaime’s whole life with her and then she died when she was only 36 from this disorder. Jaime was 8 years old at the time. Insisting on being the mother that she didn't get a chance to be, Jaime is very active at her kids’ schools and extracurricular activities. She stays positive and focuses only on all that's good. Her greatest blessings are her kids and her husband. She also has amazing support from family, friends, and her wonderful community.
“I'm very thankful to Beachview Dreams for this chance to break from reality and to spend a very much needed fun, relaxing vacation with my family. It's been 5 years since we've been able to get away together! From the bottom of my heart, thank you so very much!”
Lora is physically 56 years old and has Cerebral Palsy as well as developmental delays and is mentally about 8 years old. She relies on the use of a walker 24/7 and uses a wheelchair when needed. Our mom passed away suddenly in 2014 and sadly Lora's life has been most affected as Mom was content to remain home each night and make Lora's schedule and routine her own. I became Lora's legal guardian and sole caregiver and attempt to do what is best for Lora. Life hasn't been easy as I had to leave my full time job, lost my car and lost many friends. The first two years were filled with grief, loss, and a constant struggle to obtain assistance with food, utilities and just making sure Lora received what she needed. Our sister Jackie and her family have been so supportive and help with what they can. We’re forever grateful for them and are thrilled they will be with us on this family vacation.
Lora has been attending a day program run by the Easter Seals for the past 36 years. Lora enjoys attending her special program run here in our town called Camp Robin Adult Friday Night Trips.
Lora has some favorite things that she never travels without; her sunglasses, her am/fm radio with headphones always tuned to 100.3 Z100, and her pal Spot, an original Pound Puppy who is about 30 years old and very worn that she takes everywhere!
Lora loves WWE watching every Monday and Thursday night and her favorite wrestler is John Cena. She also is an avid football fan her favorite team NY Giants. She loves dolphins and anything Elmo. She also loves watching Dance Moms, Baywatch, and Everybody Loves Raymond.
Sadly there isn't enough support to help our disabled citizens and I'm constantly amazed when I make phone call after phone call to find much needed support with responses such as "that program was discontinued" or "no monies available due to budget cuts".
This vacation is a dream as Lora has not been away for 20 years and I haven't been away for, at least ten. We are very excited to be able to enjoy a week away together as a family. Thank you Beachview Dreams for helping bring a little happiness to our lives!
David
Nominated by his daughter, Dawn
Words from our Veterans
Robert
Nominated by his daughter, Kristen
I was born with a cleft-pallet and a heart murmur and suffered a ruptured ear drum in Junior High. When I went for my Navy physical at the Arthur J. Murray Fed Building in Oklahoma City (the one that was bombed) there were about 200 of us standing in our scivies waiting for our physicals so I didn't tell them about my heart murmur or ruptured eardrum. They questioned me about my cleft-pallet and I told them I could #%^$3 well handle anything the Navy could dish out. I passed my physical and my Mom almost fainted when I told her that I was leaving for boot camp the next week. I had three tours in Vietnam. Went over for a year, came home and got engaged to Deanna, went back over for a year, came home and married Deanna, went back over for another year, came home and stayed home. We will be celebrating our 48 wedding anniversary on December 7th this year. (Yes, that is Pearl Harbor Day and I was in the Navy, go figure!!!!) We provided gunfire support for the Marines and we fired over 3,000 artillery rounds in support of my Marines. We also searched over 1,000 Vietnamese Junks and captured a number of Viet Cong smuggling supplies to their troops along the Vietnam coastline up around Danang. When we weren't in Vietnam, we patrolled the Formosa Straights between Taiwan and Red China. We actually got caught in a Typhoon for 4 days and wound up 1/2 mile off the China coastline. They had their shore batteries trained on us but for some reason never fired on us. My last 6 months in the Navy, they changed our home port to Key West where we helped discover a secret Russian Submarine Base in Cienfeagos Cuba. We are active in our church, I like to play computer Chess, and my wife and I volunteer as Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus for our grandkids elementary schools.
Robert is a Navy veteran who has raised 7 children, and loves to spend time with 16 grand children and 5 great-grandchildren.
He suffers from severe back, hip and leg pain. Due to this he uses a wheelchair the majority of the time. He lives everyday in severe pain but doesn't complain.
Robert is diabetic. He hasn't been able to do a lot or go many places. A week prior to seeing this offer to nominate someone, my dad and I were talking and he said he would love to go to the beach and do the boardwalk one more time. He spent a large part of his childhood living by the beach. He really misses it but spends time in the summer at his camper in the mountains. He used to love swimming but can no longer kick his legs. He collects stamps, loves steak and shrimp, prefers war movies, and likes country music.
He is by far one of the best influences in my life and truly deserves this.