Testimonials

Jude had many therapists, in the hospital and afterwards. Olivia was his occupational therapist, but if she were out of office a substitute would fill in. While I am thankful for anyone who works with my son, seeing so many different medical providers has provided me with a unique insight to the varying degrees of skill they possess. I say without prejudice, Olivia was the absolute best. No one likes to play favorites, but amongst his therapy team (speech, physical, vision, occupational, etc.) it was a running joke that Jude would light up for his time with Olivia. Jude is completely g-tube dependent and struggles with eating orally for unknown reasons. To this day, Olivia was the only one capable of getting Jude to interact with food in a positive manner; she accomplished things with him that no one has been able to recreate.

Post pandemic life was very isolating, and family wasn’t allowed to travel to meet Jude. My friends weren’t allowed to meet him, again for the same fears (most of them work with the public). It was a strange time. So, Olivia became Jude’s family. He was more than her therapist; he was her aunt, her cousin, her teacher and her playmate. Jude saw her more often than he saw his father. Aside from myself, he knew and loved her more than any other person in this world. She organized and threw him his 1st birthday party (attended by other therapists). He took his first steps with her. She saw him outside of therapy as well, he did his first trick or treat neighborhood stroll with her. Many of the photos from Jude’s first year and a half of life are in Olivia’s arms.

I know that losing her has affected the trajectory of Jude’s growth, not only therapeutically, but also emotionally. Right before her death he had just started to display a surprising intellectual leap. He started saying “O” (her name), and despite having low muscle tone, delayed physical milestones, and inability to eat orally, she declared him “brilliant” and said he was going to be very intelligent, and said she would help me navigate how to get him into good schools to maximize his capabilities. Jude lost his biggest cheerleader, his best medical advocate, and the very person he first walked towards. When we walked her to the door after our very last in-home session she said “the next time I see him he’s going to be talking in full sentences!” and we wished her safe travels.

How do you explain to a toddler where Miss O is? Why she never returned? The weeks, even months after her death are a fog. She was one of the brightest lights in our small, isolated world; Jude lost one of the most constant presences in his short life. We lost her. The entire world lost her, and I still constantly struggle with having to be thankful we had in our lives but devastated that it was so unfairly cut short.

Under her guidance and expertise, Jude went from a grim prognosis of blindness, physical, and intellectual disability to the amazing little boy he is today. She talked me down from every scary medical prediction, told me how powerful a child’s brain can be when it is properly rewired, trained and formed, and then proved it with Jude’s amazing success. How many more children could she have helped succeed? Jude still has a long road ahead of him, what would he be like if Olivia was still here, patiently proving her philosophy that all children’s lives have value, and can improved upon, even those burdened with the heavy label of disability? It breaks my heart that we will never know.

Sincerely,
Beth and Jude Svitak

To know Liv is to know that Family was Everything to her…she was fiercely loyal, independent but kind and loving to the core and nothing brought her more joy than being with her family. She was our biggest cheerleader whether it was at my football games, traveling all over the world to cheer on Caroline’s Irish lacrosse team or simply playing games that she loved around a big table with lots of laughing and good-natured competition. She considered her little patients as family and shared so much about them and even took some of us to her appointments so we could experience and marvel in her life’s mission and work.

As I speak for my family, I want you all to know what it was like to be Olivia’s “person”. She was the first grandchild for Grandy, Pap, Nana, Pop and Big Grandpa, the first cousin to Emily, Riley, Abby, Hannah, Thomas, Candace, Curtis, Matthew & Sarah, she was the first niece to her loving Uncles and Aunts and of course mine and Caroline’s big sister. She relished in that role. We often referred to her as “Large and In Charge” and a sign in her room read I’m not Bossy, I’m just Helpful. She didn’t take no for an answer and pushed us to do things outside of our comfort zone, like hiking Angels Landing with my mom, jumping off Cliffs with her friends, taking our family to the Dead Sea and skiing black diamonds.

Olivia had a zest for life like none other and we are so honored and humbled to have been HER “person”. As her little bro, I felt like she could be herself around me…I would make her laugh, show her some of my new dance moves I been working on, make her drinks, and share new music or workouts. As for my sister Caroline, even though she was 3 years younger, Liv looked up to her in so many ways. She never made a fashion decision without checking with Caroline first. They had a special sister bond & Liv knew she could trust her with anything.