Lifeline for caregivers.
Caring for a child with a life-limiting illness is a labor of love, but it takes a toll on primary caregivers who, year after year, can’t get time off to recharge their batteries. To fill that gap, Sandy Springs resident Mary Cotta Reed and a team of volunteers are raising money to build Life House Atlanta. It will be the first freestanding, pediatric respite house for kids in Georgia and only the second in the Southeast to provide 24/7 care. Reed was inspired by her experience caring for her daughter, Catherine, who has cerebral palsy and is 100% tube-fed.
“Round-the-clock caregiving is very hard on marriages,” Reed says. “My husband, Rob, and I are dedicated to giving Catherine the biggest life possible, but we haven’t had a date night in over five years.”
Though profoundly deaf since birth, Reed is no stranger to volunteerism. In addition to her current role as chair of the Life House board, she’s been president of the Georgia Chapter of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the Georgia Commission for the Deaf or Hard of Hearing. “Last year, Life House raised $71,000, and we hope our September breakfast at the Georgia Aquarium will launch us to a whole new level. Our dedicated board is working non-stop to make that happen,” she says.
LIFE HOUSE
lifehouseatlanta.org
@lifehouseatlanta
