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*, 28                                            JOSE,23

                                                  
Timothy has Cerebral Palsy              Jose has Spina bifida and
and developmental delays and         has been with us for 11 years.
is in a wheelchair. He has lived        Despite being critically ill with
at the Foundation in Miami for         various severe medical
five years. Tim is a great guy          problems, Jose's amazing
with a friendly personality that        personality and friendly
loves to watch movies and TV,        disposition make him very
listen to music, and take walks        special to all of us. Jose's
outside.                                      absolute favorite pasttime is
                                                going to the movies, as well
                                                as hanging out with staff and
                                                 his family.

DARLENE, 21*                                        TIFFANY, 21 *

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

LARRY, 21                                                 PEDRO, 21*

 
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, 20                                             WOODY, 20*
                                                                
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, 20                                          KARLEY, 19

                            
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, 19                                       SETH, 19 *

                       
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, 19                                BROOKE, 19
                                      
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!            

SANDRIANA, 19

Sandriana has shaken baby syndrome, profound developmental delays, and a seizure disorder. She has lived with us since she was two years old. Sandy was abused as an infant resulting in her disabilities. She also recently experienced an acute illness causing her to need an ileostomy (bag to collect stool since she cannot go on her own) and gastrostomy tube (feeding tube). Sandriana still has a long way to go to overcome her medical problems, but she is incredibly strong and we know she will pull through. When she is well, Sandy loves to play with baby dolls, brush people's hair, and watch movies.
                   
    
       ADELLE, 18                                         KYLE, 18
                              
  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.


STEVEN, 17 *                                            AUSTIN, 17*
Steven came to live at the                Austin came to live at the
Foundation in Miami almost                Foundation in Miami in
three years ago. He has                    2005. He has Prader-Willi
developmental delays and                  Syndrome, which causes
came to us with severe                     developmental delays and
early morbid obesity. In his                other health problems.
three years with us Steven               Austin is a smart kid, and
has lost over 200 pounds!!                loves to help the staff with
We are very proud of his                   their duties. He also loves
accomplishments. Steven                  animals, mainly dogs, and
is very smart, loves to                      video games, as well as
bowl, play video games and               going to the movies.
watch Gator football!

MICHAEL, 16                                      ADAM, 15
          
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 his
Michael loves animals, music, and       family.
going on trips but his favorite
pasttime is eating! Here, he is seen
playing with Penny's baby Ella.

ANGELICA, 15                         MEREDITH, 14

         
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, 14                                 SOPHIE, 14
           
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, 13                                 GABRIELLE, 13

     
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, 11                              


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 twelve! 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, 9*

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, 5


Lola-Ann is the youngest Geraldi 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 Pre-K at Hayesville Elementary 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!