AJ News

Amanda Ferri Abington Journal Intern

Every year, juniors in public high schools begin working on their senior projects, including a reflection paper and presentation, in order to graduate. The subject of 16-year-old Olivia Brock’s project is a very personal one: her younger sister’s chromosomal disorder.

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Grace Brock, 9.

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Mom Jennifer Brock with daughters daughters Grace, 9, front and Olivia,16.

Abington Journal/Danielle Antonello-Smolley

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Nine-year-old Grace Brock suffers from a disorder called 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. This means that a section of her 22nd chromosome, which is found in every cell of the body, is missing. Olivia decided to focus her project on her sister’s disorder and the life of a family in Clarks Summit with special needs member as a way to raise awareness of the disease.

Olivia explained that living with a special-needs sibling can be challenging at times. Grace’s disorder causes her to have many medical, cognitive and behavioral issues of which the family needs to be aware.

“On a day-to-day basis, it’s probably just the mood swings,” Olivia said. “One second you’re her best friend and literally the next second you could have done something and she misunderstood and she will not want to be around you.”

But even though Grace has trouble controlling her emotions sometimes, her siblings Sam, 14, and Eden, 12, and mother, Jennifer, agree that Grace “brings a real sweetness to the family.” Her mother describes her as being very affectionate and Grace even has a special gesture to show her family she loves them: she points to herself, forms a heart with her fingers and points to her family.

Jennifer said her children are very compassionate toward Grace’s condition because they see everything she goes through. Grace has had multiple surgeries and needs constant medical attention for things such as juvenile arthritis and ear and teeth conditions.

“It seems she grows out of one thing and another thing crops up,” Jennifer said.

The Brock family recently took a trip to California sponsored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, on Dec. 20. They went to Disneyland for two days, visited Universal Studios and took a bus trip of Los Angeles. The Brocks spent Christmas day at the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House, which is an important organization to them. They added another week to their trip and visited father David’s extended family in different parts of California.

Their mother explained that Grace’s siblings make her feel comfortable in social situations and give her a sense of belonging. Grace’s dependence on her family has brought them all closer together. Olivia said it has also made her more aware of other people’s feelings.

“Since I have to read how Grace is reacting in a certain situation, I’ve noticed other people more and how they’re reacting,” Olivia said. “I just look beyond the outside…even with people who don’t have special needs.”

Olivia likes to spend a lot of time with Grace and she said her favorite activity to do with her sister is reading.

“I like reading with her a lot because she’s really cute when she reads,” Olivia said. “Sometimes she doesn’t know the words and she mispronounces them and it’s funny.”

Olivia and Grace also share a love for horses. Grace rides Rosie the horse as part of her therapy at Clearwater Farms Therapeutic Riding Center. Horseback riding and games like Simon Says, Around the World and scavenger hunts are all a part of Grace’s therapy. Olivia also occasionally rides horses when she visits. She currently works at the Abington Community Library to save money for horseback riding lessons.

Eden shares a room with Grace and agreed that Grace’s mood swings can be troublesome.

“She would be yelling at me one second then the next second she’s my best friend and wanting to sleep with me,” Eden said.

Olivia said that when Grace goes through these mood changes, the best way to make her feel better is to make jokes and be silly.

“You just have to get her mind off what she’s scared of and make her think about something else,” Olivia said.

Though Grace has to experience complications caused by her disorder, Olivia and the rest of her family help her through the tough times.

“They have been able to model for her how to behave in certain circumstances and give her a sense of belonging,” Jennifer said about Grace’s siblings.