Takara Odom may not have realized it Saturday, but her minion’s emergency repair may one day help the three-year-old deal with her own medical needs.
Takara, of Batavia, attended a Teddy Bear Clinic during the Creative Communities: Interactive Health Fest Saturday at Robert Morris School.
With a focus on whole body health, including physical, mental, social and emotional well-being, the event was to provide opportunities to learn about ways to strengthen one’s overall fitness, including when dealing with doctor and emergency room visits, said Laurie Ferrando of Rochester Regional Health’s Healthy Living program.
“This offers exposure to some of the things they might have to come into contact with,” she said. “It really does help with those things to make it not so scary.”
Takara brought in her baby minion for some TLC and, while wearing her own surgical cap, was allowed to see various procedures and touch the instruments used to help her baby get better. Ideally, that will ease Takara's mind down the road when and if she may need her own medical treatment because she has been exposed to objects and procedures that will now be more familiar to her in the future, Ferrando said.
Art teacher Linda Fix was at another table, where she offered a creative workshop for the day. Students Addison Forsyth and Madelyn Demena, both 12 and going into seventh grade at Batavia Middle School this fall, were each finishing up their crafts.
The girls had visited all of the tables earlier and played some games but spent the majority of their time fine-tuning their pieces — a brilliant butterfly scene for Addison and a colorful flower masterpiece for Madelyn.
Thanks to a grant through GO ART!, Fix is working on a project titled “Kindness, Empathy and You,” which will end up as a traveling exhibit of her work.
“My primary goal is to paint a large mural on the wall at John Kennedy (Intermediate) School on Vine Street in Batavia. The mural will then be professionally photographed, and will be transferred to canvas and become a traveling mural in the Batavia School system,” she said. “The workshops will concentrate on the theme of the project with expressions, and creativity through art.”
A marketing company based in Buffalo will be reproducing the mural, which is to be ready for travel by mid to later July, she said.
The second half of Saturday provided families the opportunity to visit the Just Kings Juneteenth Freedom Celebration at Williams Park.
