Sandi Caya

Back when the book first came out the Portland Development Commission held a retreat & I was unable to go. I heard about this book & contacted Kevin's office to ask for a copy, which he sent me. I had my two oldest granddaughters living with me as their mom had been on meth for many years. They were only in their very early teens & had been through abuse & neglect for years. They took turns reading Red Rubber Ball then we discussed what they read. Seemed like a great book but not earth shattering. They talked a lot about dreams & hopes for the future. Jump forward to today: Both girls have grown to be very strong women who pay it forward & help others. The oldest is 27 & just completed pre-med. She will be taking her MCATS & applying to medical schools in a few months & has worked at a trauma one level ER scribe for several years. She already has papers published & is working on others. Her goal is to become a trauma surgeon & take law classes in an effort to get good medical care for everyone. The youngest of the two is 25 & working for the Navy as an Aero Electrical Technician on P3s & will be moving to Florida to work on P8s. Both girls love their jobs & have gotten many write ups. They are very happy, well adjusted girls & love what they do. They accept their past, love their mom but understand that even though she's clean now for years, she still bares the scars of 11 yrs of meth addiction. They accept her for what she is. Reading the Red Rubber Ball book was the first time we actually spoke about dreams & the future for them. The book lit a fire within them; a desire to be better than good, to find what they love & go for it. I have to give Kevin credit for such an amazing idea on such a simple level. I think every class room in middle school & high school should have a copy & make it required reading. It started as just a spark & ended up lighting up their lives. Thank you for the kind gesture of sending me the book. It helped change two little girl's lives.