Here, you will find short bios and photos of all of our clients. Enjoy! If you have questions or would like to sponsor a child or adult, please contact us.

* - PHOTOS COMING SOON

DOROTHY

Dorothy, or "Mama Dot" as the kids call her, is our oldest client.
She is like a grandmother figure to all of our residents! Dorothy
loves all of our clients and staff and is a friend to everyone. She
suffered a severe stroke prior to coming to live at the Foundation
ten years ago, and suffers from a variety of health complications. However, nothing can keep Mama Dot down, and she loves to
talk with the staff, help any way she can (she is our laundry guru!)and watch good movies.


LEANNE                                                        JO-ANN*
                          
Leanne has Down syndrome              Jo-Ann has Down syndrome
and is one of the handicapped         and came to us at the same adults that live at the                     time as Leanne did over 15
Foundation. Leanne has been           years ago. She enjoys being with us for over fifteen years,           with the lower-functioning
and is very special to our                 clients and is a great help
family and all of the clients.              with their care. Jo-Ann also
Leanne loves helping care for             likes to listen to music and the children, especially the               watch movies.
babies, and has a special bond
with Sophie. Leanne also enjoys
word search puzzles and going
on visits with her sister, Nancy.

TIMOTHY*, 29                                           JOSE,24

                                                  

Timothy has Cerebral Palsy              Jose has spina bifida and
and cognitive delays and                 has been with us for 12
is in a wheelchair. He has                years. Despite being
lived at the Foundation in                critically ill with various
Miami for six years. Tim is a             medical problems, Jose's
great guy with a friendly                 amazing personality and
personality. He loves to                  friendly disposition make
watch movies and TV, listen            him very special to all of us.
to music and take walks                  His very favorite pasttime is
outside.                                       movies!!  
                  
DARLENE, 22*                                        TIFFANY, 22 *

Darlene is our oldest                         Tiffany has Down  
adopted child. She has                      syndrome and is very
Down syndrome and                          intelligent. Tiffany is a
is deaf and profoundly                       true "girly-girl" and loves
handicapped. Dar-Dar                        everything from makeup
loves bubbles and swings!                  and jewelry to clothes 
                                                    and nail polish!

LARRY, 22                                                 PEDRO, 22*

 
Larry has Down syndrome                Pedro suffered from a
and complex heart and lung              seizure disorder and a
diseases and has lived with              spinal infection as a baby
us in Miami for nearly ten                 that left him mentally
years. With his winning smile             delayed and still
and humorous personality,                suffering from seizures.
Larry is a favorite of all. He              Although he is nonverbal
loves watching football,                 and profoundly handicapped,
eating and hanging out                  Pedro is very social and
with the guys!                             always has a hug and smile
                                                ready...especially for 
                                                someone willing to feed him!

                                                            
CHAMP, 21                                             WOODY, 21*
                                                                
Champ is the first boy that           "Woody Woodpecker" has
Camille & Mike adopted. He           Down syndrome and is
is all boy, and couldn't be             profoundly handicapped. He happier outside camping,              also has a g-tube to help him
playing sports, or working             eat and gain weight. Woody
with the dogs. Champ has            is very affectionate and loves
Down syndrome and is very           to be held, rocked and sung
smart.                                       to. When in a good mood he 
                                               also loves walks outside!



MARIAH, 21                                          KARLEY, 20

                            
Mariah has Down syndrome          Karley has Down syndrome and
and came to the Foundation          has lived at the Foundation
as a critically ill baby from             since birth, when she was
Haiti. She was very sick her           adopted. Karley has always
first year of life and has come        dazzled everyone with her
a long way!! Mariah loves              perfect speech and her
music and movies, as well as         amazing intelligence. Karley
going to school.                        loves animals, as you can tell,  
                                             as well as music and being with
                                              her many friends!

COURTNEY, 20                                       SETH, 20 *

                       
Courtney has Down                    Seth has Down syndrome as
syndrome as well as mild             well as a speech defect. While
Autistic tendencies. She              he cannot speak well, Seth
is adopted by the Geraldis            has overcome this hurdle
and has been with the                 amazingly and is almost fluent
family since birth. Courtney          in sign language. Seth loves to
loves animals, especially              swim, play outside and eat
dogs, as well as musicals.             cheeseburgers!!
Her favorites are "Annie"
and "Willy Wonka"! 



JO-LAYNE, 20                                BROOKE, 20
                                      
Jo-Layne was the Geraldi's          Brooke came to the Foundation
first very sick baby. She             as a baby. She has Down
has Down syndrome, severe        syndrome. Brooke's favorite
heart and lung disorders, a          hobby is dancing, as well as
complex bowel problem, and         listening to CDs and watching
a seizure disorder. She               movies. She also loves to help
spent much of her life in the        in the kitchen.
hospital and is now happy &
healthy! Jo-Jo loves music, 
makeup, and dancing, and 
is quite the ham!            

    
       ADELLE, 19                                        KYLE, 19                              
  Adelle has Down                        Kyle has 9p Monosomy
  syndrome and is one                  syndrome, a rare chromosomal
  of our sickest children.               disorder resulting in 
  She was adopted as                developmental delays and other
  a baby, and has had                  problems. Kyle is very high
  three open-heart                      functioning and intelligent. He
  surgeries, a pacemaker               loves to cook, help with the
  and defibrillator implant,             other clients, and do artwork.
  and a mechanical valve.             Kyle is also our resident
  Adelle takes it all in stride           kitchen and household buddy!
  and her winning personality
  makes her a favorite with
  all of our visitors and friends!
  Adelle loves music, dancing, 
  and sports of all kinds.

MICHAEL, 17                                     ADAM, 16          
Michael has lived with the              Adam has also lived at the
family since he was a month           Foundation since he was a
old. He has Down syndrome,           newborn. He was born with a ADHD, a speech disorer, and           brain disorder called
severe heart, lung, and stomach      lissencephaly, and is blind,
problems. Michael has undergone     almost completely, deaf, and numerous surgeries and                  in a wheelchair. Adam has
hospitalizations due to his medical    overcome many obstacles
problems, but continues to thrive   and has proven doctors wrong
due to his incredible strength!        again and again with his will
Michael is very sociable and             to live! Adam is very special
uses sign language to communicate.   to all of us, as well as to
Michael loves animals, music, and       his family.
going on trips but his favorite
pasttime is eating! Here, he is seen
playing with Penny's baby Ella.

ANGELICA, 16                         MEREDITH, 15

         
 Angelica, our "post-             Meredith came to us in 1993 when
hurricane baby", was            she was only a month old, and her
adopted by the Geraldis      adoption was recently finalized...she 
only a few short weeks         is now fully a Geraldi! Meredith was
after Hurricane Andrew         a critically ill infant, with a severe
hit Miami in 1992. She          cleft lip, palate, and face, and has
was a newborn, and very      had over a dozen reconstructive
sick with Down syndrome,     surgeries to build her a new face!
heart defects, a lung          She came to us with a tracheostomy
disorder and congenital        (breathing tube in her neck), a
dislocated hips. While she     g-tube (feeding tube in her belly),
is now healthy with a           and an amazingly wonderful
strong heart and lungs,        personality! Meredith's mother had
Angelica will need more        been addicted to cocaine during her
surgery on her hips as         pregnancy, and Meredith was also in
she ages to keep her           drug withdrawal and had a cardiac
pain-free and as mobile        defect that required surgery.
as much as possible.          Now, 14 years later, she is trach and This doesn't stop our          tube-free, with a beautiful face and
"Geli Belly" from getting         even more beautiful spirit! Meredith
around...she loves to         is almost normal developmentally, and
play outside, sing and         does well in her high school classes.
dance, and play with           She is a true tomboy and loves to
purses, makeup and             play sports (basketball and track),
jewelry. Her favorite            help with training the dogs, and
pasttime is "American           go camping, hiking and fishing. She
Idol!!"                               is a survivor!!

CARMELO, 15                                 SOPHIE, 15
           
Carmelo has Down syndrome      Sophie came to the family
and has been with the              shortly after Carmelo, when she
Geraldis since his adoption         was barely two months old, and
as an infant. He was born to       the two of them are special
a cocaine addicted mother           friends, as they grew up
in severe withdrawal with             together nearly inseperable!
heart and lung disorders as         Sophie has Down syndrome and well as a feeding problem.            hip disorders, and is a very
Carmelo overcame his health        smart girl! Sophie has a special
problems with flying colors and      bond with Leanne, who helped
proved wrong the doctors who     care for her as a baby, and the
swore he would need surgery,       photo is of the two of them at
would be fragile all his life, and       last year's holiday party.
would not survive. "Mello Yellow"   Sophie is a "little princess" and
is now a strong and healthy           likes anything girly, but hates kid who is all boy. He loves any       getting dirty!
kind of sports, running and
jumping, playing video games,
swimming (especially in the
ocean!) and dancing to his
favorite music!

JACKSON, 14                                 GABRIELLE, 14

     
Jackson was born with Down       Gabrielle was born healthy and
syndrome and was adopted       suffered from an allergic reaction
at only several weeks old.           to one of her routine vaccines
He was also born on Camille         when she was just a newborn.
and Mike's biological daughter    This caused severe brain damage
Jaclyn's birthday! Thus, his        and she is now wheelchair
name, Jackson! Jackson also       bound, profoundly handicapped,
has a disorder called Celiac's      and blind. She can hear, though,
Disease, which is a digestive        as well as distinguish between
disorder and basically means        caregivers! Gabby is a little doll
he can't eat or drink anything      with her porcelain skin and
with Gluten in it. Gluten is            gorgeous, thick red hair! She
found in many grain products,    truly is a blessing and one of our
as well as dairy. Jackson is          miracles!
also nicknamed "Little Bill"
because of his bond with
Bill, our head dog trainer. Bill
used to be Camille's personal
assistant when Jackson was a
baby, and the two are very
close! Jackson loves to play
and watch football, especially
the Miami Dolphins, as well as
anything with Spider-Man or
any Superhero!

DONOVAN, 12                             


Donovan came to the Foundation at birth with many problems. He has Down syndrome, a cardiac disorder that required two open-heart surgeries when he was just a newborn, severe lung disease, and was born without a fully developed esophagus and intestines. He had multiple surgeries during the first four years of his life to reconstruct his esophagus and small intestine, and can now eat well by mouth...which is his favorite thing to do! If we let him, he would eat all day! However, he still has a feeding tube in his stomach (g-tube) to help supplement his nutrition. Donovan continues to be medically involved in many areas, and suffers from short stature as well, which makes others think he is five...when he is almost thirteen! He takes it all in stride though and is definitely a fighter. Donovan is one of our brightest, most outgoing children. The "Little Golden Boy" is asked for by all not only for his cute looks but his wonderfully friendly personality. Donovan's favorite things (other than eating) are outings with his big sister and second mother Renae, watching movies, dancing to anything, and playing ball!

HANNAH, 10*

Hannah came to the Foundation at barely two weeks old, with Down syndrome and a heart defect. While the heart defect resolved on its own without needing surgery, Hannah still faces a number of obstacles. She, like Jackson, suffers from Celiac disease and has numerous problems with feeding and nutrition. She also has developed a mild form of Autism that causes behavioral and concentration problems for her. However, Hannah has come through with flying colors. She is an adorable little girl with a friendly disposition and is very outgoing. She and Donovan are buddies and like to play together constantly! Hannah's favorite hobbies are music and the swings on the playground!

LOLA-ANN, 6


Lola-Ann is the youngest adopted child and has lived with us since her birth. She came to us from the Bahamas with Down syndrome, a severe heart defect that required surgery when she was seven months old, a brain bleed, and feeding problems. Despite all of her health issues, Lola-Ann is now healthy and thriving! Lola-Ann came to us very shortly after the death of Camille's mother, Ann, and is named after her. She is very special to us for she is the littlest member of the family, and she knows it! Lola-Ann is very high functioning and is currently working on potty training. She goes to regular school and is doing well. She can already count and knows her colors and some shapes, and has an amazing memory, especially when it comes to songs!