Celebration of Hope: 4-year-old finds her voice with help from Regional Rehab Center

TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) — Four-year-old Luci Fikes brings sunshine wherever she goes, but when insurance limits threatened her progress in speech therapy, her family found an answered prayer at the Regional Rehabilitation Center (RRC).

“She is a spitfire,” her mother, Mary Margaret Fikes, said. “She is a firecracker, and she is the sunshine of our life. She lights up every room she walks in.”

However, at 18 months old, she suddenly stopped talking. As her parents sought help, they hit a major financial roadblock.

“We used up her visits probably within four months, three months,” her father, Westley Fikes, said. “And then we got a $6,000 bill in the mail.”

That’s when they found the RRC, where services are completely free.

For the past two years, speech therapist Bethany Reed has helped the 4-year-old learn to communicate using an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device.

“Lucy is so fun. She’s so bubbly,” Reed said. “It is always super exciting whenever they say their first word or, in Luci’s case, she’s going to use a communication device to communicate with us.”

Without insurance bills or visit limits, Luci Fikes can thrive at her own pace and walk in with total confidence.

“When we get here, she walks in like she owns the place,” her mother said. “She knows exactly where she is going. Everybody knows who she is and she is comfortable and happy.”

A gift of independence made possible entirely through community generosity.

WTVA will host the Celebration of Hope telethon on Nov. 15. It’s a great way to support the RRC and its mission to provide free services to children and others across the region.

Open this link to learn more about the Celebration of Hope telethon and ways to support RRC.