Easter

arrived a little early for about two dozen children

affiliated with Hope House's respite care program.

Personalized

baskets containing toys, books and sweets were delivered

director Mike Sorrow and a host of volunteers starting

Wednesday.

Two Fayette

County recipients included Mason and Mitchell Tompkins of

Peachtree City. Mason, who will turn 2 years old May 4,

enjoyed the crinkly cellophane paper almost as much as

the purple platypus tucked inside his basket.

His brother

Mitchell, 3, went straight for the colored plastic eggs,

which he separated in a snap. Their mother, Karen, helped

them sift through the grass-stuffed baskets to unearth

each and every treat.

The holiday

basket distribution is just one example of the many large

and small caring gestures Hope House offers to its

exceptional families. Karen and Jay Tompkins are parents

of an 11-year-old daughter, Hannah, and Mason and

Mitchell. Both boys were born with mitochondria disorder

and are predisposed to seizures. As their mother explains

it, mitochondria affects the "power plant" of

the muscle, resulting in low muscle tone, difficulties in

learning to walk, and in Mason's case, eating

difficulties.

Extensive

physical therapy has enabled Mitchell to strengthen his

arms, which allows him greater mobility than his sibling,

Mason, who is still "in training" three days a

week with Michelle Larson, a Scottish Rite physical

therapist working at Fayette Community Hospital. Through

Larson, the Tompkinses learned about Hope House and their

respite care providers. Trained volunteers and nurses

come and stay in the home with the children and fulfill

all the daily care requirements normally carried out by

the parent or primary care giver, giving them a break to

spend time with the other siblings or simply rest.

The

Tompkinses are planning to attend their daughter's tennis

match in a couple of weeks using a Hope House care team

to look after the boys. The program was launched about

five years ago and remains the only source of respite

care for children in the metro area. Currently, Hope

House serves 24 children and their families in Fayette,

Coweta, Douglas and Clayton counties. The next step is

building a respite care center next to Southwest

Christian Hospice in Union City, estimated to cost about

$1.2 million.

Plans on

the table call for an eight-bedroom wing with a family

lounge, two parents' efficiency rooms, game room,

computer and music room, library, multisensory room,

hydrotherapy pool, spa bath and showers, gardens, outdoor

play area and chapel. Staffing will include a care

manager and nursing staff, pediatric nurses, nursing

assistants, a social worker, physiotherapist, chaplain

and support staff. Respite care would be offered for a

few days or as long as two weeks on any one visit.

Cost of

building the center and its operation will be met through

donations from churches, corporate sponsors and

individuals. For information about Hope House and its

volunteer program, phone 770-969-8354.