Clinic for Special Children opens in Gordonville

"Today is the day we officially take off our hard hats," said Herman Bontrager to applause. Bontrager, board chair of the Clinic for Special Children and chair of the Keeping the Promise Building Hope capital campaign, was addressing the gathering at the June 20 ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house held at the new Clinic for Special Children, recently completed at 20 Community Lane, Gordonville.

Bontrager welcomed the group and immediately recalled April 4, 2023, when the organization broke ground for the new building. He also reminded the gathering of the vision and courage of Dr. Holmes Morton and his wife, Caroline, who founded the clinic 35 years ago. "We have served the most vulnerable among us - children and adults facing rare genetic disorders," said Bontrager, adding, "Today children with once life-limiting disorders are growing into healthy adults and new treatments are on the horizon. This building represents the clinic's promise to care for children as they age and seek life-giving therapies."

The Rodriguez family from New York spoke next, with Alicia, mother of Eric and wife of Walter, telling the story of how the family was overwhelmed by Eric's diagnosis of glutaric acidemia, when he was born at 31 weeks of gestation. Walter searched the internet for answers, and when he discovered the clinic in Lancaster County, the family drove the four hours to meet staff members. "We thought the GPS had made a mistake," noted Alicia of the final portion of the trip when the car traveled through a farm field and a cluster of trees. "From the moment we walked in, we felt hope," she stated, noting that Eric, who is now 5, is in good health and "runs us ragged." "He is our daily reminder that God is gracious and good," she said. "The clinic manifests hope when there isn't any."

Clinic executive director Adam Heaps spoke prior to the ribbon cutting. "The vision for this project was conceived a number of years ago when the need for the clinic's innovative and essential services was increasing while the walls of clinic were not," he said. Heaps defined the work of the organization in a number of ways, noting that the office serves children and adults with genetic disorders primarily from the Plain community. "We walk alongside families that have to make important decisions relating to some of the most daunting medical challenges," he said. Heaps noted that staff members endeavor to create a comforting and inspiring environment for every family that walks through the clinic's doors, and he quoted a donor who recently prayed for the clinic, saying, "The clinic is a place where love and know-how come together." "To me, at the end of the day, the clinic combines love and knowledge to create good," Heaps added.

More information about the clinic may be found at http://www.ClinicforSpecialChildren.org.