Note From Grateful Participant From Utah LEAP Training

Note From Grateful Participant From Utah LEAP Training (November 2018)

Dear Ornsteins,

A national day of gratitude is coming this Thursday. For me and my wife, that day already came — last Thursday. The day we were able to see Dr. Amador in Salt Lake City.

This summer past, his book opened our eyes to what our son was grappling with, in a way no other professional mental health help did. And we began a course correction in how we approached him immediately. By “course correction,” I’m confident that you know what I mean – a 180 degree turn.

But simple though the concept of LEAP is, it’s very challenging to execute moment-by-moment, day by day. It’s 100% accurate to say that I failed far more times than succeeded. By factors of 10, or more likely, a hundred.

So, to be able to see and hear Dr. Amador was a true gift. More than words can describe. And it left me feeling something that I hadn’t felt in months: hope.

That thing, as the poet Emily Dickinson wrote, with feathers, that perches in the soul.

I thanked you at the end of the day, last Thursday. But a few words in a few minutes doesn’t begin to express the depth of our feeling. So, this is to attempt some more articulate explanation for that gratitude. And to let you know what a difference it makes.

Thank you both, from the bottom of our heart, for making Dr. Amador accessible to us, and all the families like us.

We are indebted to you in a way I doubt we can ever pay it back. Yet I hope (that thing with feathers, again), that we’ll find a way to pay it to others in need: young people like our sons, and their families.

Wishing you both, and your family the very best this Thanksgiving. And thanking you again for allowing us to celebrate the day a week early.