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 Health & Beauty | October 2006 
Close Encounters of the Dolphin Kind
 PVNN
| | Dolphin therapy can increase the communication skills and learning capabilities of autistic and mentally retarded children. | 
| | Nadja [left] assists patients Mari and Manoli, who are both feeling better after spending several days at Dolphin Day Camp. | 
| | Dolphin Day Camp participants have reported dramatic changes in their physical and emotional state after swimming with dolphins. | 
| | Kids enjoy art therapy and play time in the Dolphin Therapy room at the Dolphin Adventure Center in Nuevo Vallarta. | 
| | Dolphin Day Camp offers children with special needs a fun new way to interact with dolphins. | 
| | Swimming with dolphins helps unlock the secret world of children with Down's syndrome, autism and attention deficit disorders. |
For close to a year now, Macy Jozef of Living from the Heart has been working with Dolphin Adventures to provide dolphin assisted therapy to people in the Banderas Bay area who are suffering from serious illnesses ranging from depression to AIDS.
Those who have participated in the Dolphin Day Camp and Therapy programs at the Dolphin Adventure Center in Nuevo Vallarta have reported dramatic changes in their physical and emotional state after swimming with dolphins, as her latest dolphin therapy report attests...
News from Dolphin Day Camp
A recent day of dolphin therapy was particularly profound, and it is too good of a story not to be shared with you. All of us from Living From The Heart had close emotional bonds with the people receiving therapy on that special day.
It was a great present to be surrounded by so much joy, love and trust, and to have a chance to share this dolphin encounter within our own hearts. Please join us as we share this experience with you!
Meet Brian
We arranged two days of dolphin therapy for Brian, a 4 year old living in an orphanage in Bucerias, who was abandoned by his parents, abused by his uncle, and who watched his brother die. Dolphin Day Camp gave him a chance to relax and be happy. He had so much fun in the water that he actually had a smile on his face! These two days at Dolphin Day Camp were gifted to Brian by Living From The Heart. Brian touched the hearts of Kathryn, who has been working with kids at the orphanage, and Briana who works for Living From The Heart and has been Kathryn's best friend since elementary school. We hope that these two wonderful days will also improve Brian's short, but difficult life.
Bravo! Gerardo
Gerardo endured neurological damage which was untreated because his family lived in a remote mountain village where no medical care was available. He has joined us two times in the water with our dolphin friends. After his first dolphin encounter, he began eating again after a two week period of having no appetite. During this first encounter he began saying "Bravo, Bravo!" And though normally he speaks very little, he has continued shouting these enthusiastic words. BanderasNews videographer Ray Dion, who was filming that day, is very close to Gerardo and is amazed by these positive changes, as is Gerardo's sister who was also with him in the water.
Expanding the Vision
Mike has many physical illnesses, and his daughter was born with hydrocephaly due to his contamination with agent orange while serving in Vietnam. This was his 4th time in the water with the dolphins. He keeps coming back because he is seeing improvements in many ways. I met Mike thorough his work with disabled veterans in La Cruz, where I now reside. Mike is an excellent addition to the Living From The Heart family, assisting with physically challenged people in the water, as well as helping expand the vision of Living From The Heart.
Mari and Manoli
Mari was recently diagnosed with bone cancer. Two days after her diagnosis her husband of 32 years had a stroke. The next day we received the following note from them:
"Macy, Thank you so much for yesterday with Jashui. My husband had a better evening than he's had for a long time - less pain in his head and hip, more energy, he was much sharper, and I know that my back was way more relaxed and less painful. Dolphin Day Camp was a never to be forgotten experience - we'll be back!"
And they were back today and will be for the next three days. Mari and Manoli are close friends of many people who were there. This was evidenced by the smiles, tears and laughter on so many faces.
Ceasar's Story
Ceasar was here for 5 days of Dolphin Day Camp. Mari and Manoli, Brian and Gerardo, who we told you about above, joined Ceasar for Dolphin Day Camp because of the positive changes in them after just one session. The first day Ceasar was very afraid to get in the water, and screamed in fear. By the second day, he had very little fear and touched Jashui almost immediately, and by the 5th and last day of Dolphin Day Camp he needed no encouragement to get into the water. He smiled the entire time, kissed and touched Jashui and put his head on hers. The positive changes in Ceasar are among the most profound we have seen over the 18 years of Living From The Heart. Ceasar has a very special connection with Nadja, who traveled around the world last year researching dolphin therapy centers. She chose Living From The Heart as her "home," and we are very happy to have her here!
A very special thank you to Veronica Ardila in Texas and Betty Boon in Colorado. They do a great job of "holding down the fort" for Living From The Heart in the United States. We couldn't do this work without them. Much love and thanks to you both.
We personally invite you to join us in sunny Puerto Vallarta Mexico for an incredible day with our dolphins and your loved ones.
We also wish to thank you for your continued support through iGive and Albertsons. If you have not signed up at Albertsons and/or iGive, please do before your Christmas catalog shopping. For those of you who have not participated yet, read the easy "how to" below.
 The way iGive works is: Every time you make a purchase with iGive, a percentage of your purchase will be donated to Living From The Heart. Register at iGive.com and name Living From The Heart as your benefactor. There are literally hundreds of popular online stores where you may shop all the time! iGive is linked to online stores such as: Macy's, JC Penny's, GAP, Sears, Barnes and Noble, REI, Puma, Adidas, American Eagle, Ann Taylor, Avon, Petsmart, Petco, The Disney Store, Ebay, Overstock.com, Starbucks, United Airlines, Travelocity, Sony, Radio Shack, Home Depot, The Body Shop, 1-800-Flowers, Birkenstocks Central, Target AND MANY MORE!
If you have never shopped online before, now is a good to start! Just log on to iGive.com to begin this process, and/or if you are already a member, please remember us when you shop.
 Albertsons: If you have an Albertsons preferred member card, all you have to do is log on to Albertsons.com and name Living From The Heart as your preferred donation organization. If you do not yet have a preferred members card with Albertsons, you can sign up using the easy registration form at Albertsons.com. We need at least 50 people with an Albertsons club card to sign up with Living From The Heart to begin the donation process. We would appreciate it if everyone could sign up and shop at Albertsons! All donations will be used to support families who cannot afford Dolphin Day Camp.
 We also have fundraising packages available to help needy children with therapy and travel expenses! For only $150 USD you can receive a fundraising package filled with dolphin accessories and jewelry to sell [or give] to your family, friends and co-workers. These packages include: dolphin beach towels, dolphin jelly bracelets, and more great dolphin items. For more information, just send an email to Macy Jozef at
Macy@LivingFromTheHeart.org. |
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