About Brooke

Reviewed on 2/23/2015

I have known Brooke for 27 years and have hired her as a daycare provider for all 3 of my children. Both of my sons have struggled with disabilities and were a challenge to care for at times. My older son had struggled with ADHD and behavior issues when he was younger and Brooke did a wonderful job of caring for him, specifically with his anger and defiance. She followed the Love & Logic program that I used at home and was always calm and understanding with him. My youngest son was born with a birth defect that left unable to swallow correctly. He had a feeding tube placed when he was only 3 months old and was a medically fragile child with a number of issues. He was severely under weight and required a specialized formula. Brooke took upon the challenge of caring for my son, learning how to measure out his formula as well as the ever changing mixture of fatty acids and high calorie additives prescribed by his doctors and the dietitian. Feelings via the feeding tube was the only way he could eat and due to his inability to gain weight it was critical that he be fed on a very strict schedule. For the first year of his life he required the use of a portable pump that drip fed him 24/7. Once he was able to graduate off the pump he still required tube feelings every 3 hours. She learned how to sanitize the tubes after each cleaning and how to use the vent tube after feelings because he was unable to burp on his own. He also required special ointment and bandaging around the tube site on his tummy. She did the most amazing job caring for him and I was able to go off to work every morning knowing his care was top priority for her and he was receiving the best care. The speech center of his brain was also effected by the birth defect that caused him to choke or aspirate on anything via his mouth. Brooke took the lead on teaching my son sign language and followed the speech therapist instructions perfectly. Providing care for my son was a challenge and finding daycare for him was impossible. Brooke's care and devotion to my son was simply amazing. It simply cannot be overstated. His needs included weekly appointments with the speech therapist, swallow therapist and in-home (at her house) visits with Willamette ESD. During all of this time Brooke was also providing day care for 2 other children (elementary school age). My son thrived in Brooke's care and was able to have his feeding tube removed when he was 5 years old and was able to be a "normal" little boy with only a small speech delay. I honestly don't know what I would have done with out Brooke and her willingness to take on such responsibility. Today my son is a strong, fearless 11-year-old boy who plays sports, rides his ATV and works along side me caring for our horses. One would never be able to believe he was once such a medically fragile child and I give Brooke a lot of credit because her loving care during those difficult early years was unwavering. I highly recommend Brooke for her outstanding care giving skills and her "can do" attitude. Rosslyn S.