“It Takes A Village” Surrounded by Ripple Effects (Video)
Submitted by Deanna Vigliotta
National Sales Manager
TZMO USA Inc. – Seni
I think many of us, if not all of us, have heard the idiom “It takes a village.” This means many people must cooperate to achieve a goal. The full phrase is actually “It takes a village to raise a child.”
The idiom is about shared values, morals, lessons learned, and overall help and outreach from people caring for other people.
When I reflect on a very unique “human connection” experience that I was involved in recently, I would like to propose a tweak to the current saying. I’m renaming it, “It takes a village, surrounded by ripple effects.”
Have you ever found yourself in a situation that is positive, awesome, purposeful, and yet somewhat out of your comfort zone, but not in a bad way, and you think to yourself, “How did all of this happen?”
My recent get-together in the food court at the All-Star Movies Resort in Disney World with Lorena Demian and her family was a significant positive ripple effect experience, and thus has triggered my thoughts for the aforementioned proposed change to the original phrase.
So, How did all of this happen?
“Hi, Lori. We just connected on LinkedIn. Thank you!”
This was the first sentence of my first email sent to Lori La Bey in November of 2019. A stranger to Lori at that time, I had reached out to her requesting a courtesy call to learn more about her Alzheimer’s Speaks Radio show.
As a fairly new Account Executive with Seni that year, my purpose in reaching out to Lori was two-fold. First, I was just hoping that she would respond to my LinkedIn invite. Second, my hope was that Lori would subsequently respond to my email requesting to talk with her, by phone, about possibly doing a future show together related to the topic of urinary incontinence.
Lori did accept my LinkedIn invite and she did agree to talk with me!
Ripples Have Begun…
Fast forward three years later, and the positive ripple effects that have transpired between 2019 and today are impactful for many people, including myself, whose lives have been changed because she was open to having a conversation.
Think about that for a moment, “She was open to having a conversation.” Just seven non-related words individually, and yet together, those same seven words have led to significant positive ripple effects that continue to make a difference in people’s lives today. Why? Because conversation is at the core of human connection!
… And Grown!
Over the last three years, our Seni team has been guests on several Alzheimer’s Speaks Radio shows with Lori as the video podcast host. About a year ago, Indiana resident Lorena Demian happened to listen to one of the shows related to the topic of travel and incontinence.
Lorena has a 34 year old daughter Jessica who has been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia and is also challenged with incontinence.
Lorena reached out directly to Lori La Bey to learn more about Seni high performing adult incontinence products, which is really a ripple effect of the show being aired, and ripples back even further to Lori being open to having a conversation with me in the first place.
In turn, Lori connected Lorena with Seni. On behalf of Seni, I had the opportunity to speak with Lorena, learn more about her family, and better understand the daily challenges that she and her family struggle with.
The Joy of Possibilities
Lorena shared with me the great joy that she and her children have when traveling to Walt Disney World for a vacation. Lorena also shared how important it was for her to bring her daughter Jessica to Disney World as much as possible.
Disney is her daughter Jessica’s “happy place,” she explained.
However, making the drive to Disney in Florida, from their home in Indiana, had become a challenge for everyone involved because of the increasing incontinence challenges that Jessica is now experiencing. Lorena feared not being able to come to Disney any longer.
With the help of my Seni colleagues, we were excited to ship some free Seni product samples for Lorena’s daughter to try. Although our Seni-USA headquarters is based out of Atlanta, I shared with Lorena that I lived only 30 minutes outside of Disney World.
How funny it was that our paths had crossed with our common ground being our connection to Disney World and to Lori La Bey. Before hanging up, we even discussed how one thing leads to another, and another, and another – a “ripple effect” as I prefer to call it.
Joy Made Possible
A few weeks later, my cell phone rang and it was Lorena on the other end. She was ecstatic to tell me that the Seni product samples had worked for her daughter. Lorena was excited that she and her family would in fact be able to make the drive to Disney World without the worry of having to stop frequently to change garments and address situations that often occur when poor quality incontinence products are being worn.
This particular conversation ultimately rippled out to another video podcast on Alzheimer’s Speaks Radio whereby, in an effort to help other families who may be struggling with similar scenarios, Lorena was willing to share her experiences about raising children diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia.
If you stop and think about it for a moment, none of these ripple effects would have happened if Lori La Bey wasn’t open to having a conversation with a stranger early on.
From Ripples to Connections
Lorena and I agreed to meet when she came to Orlando.
And so as I sat recently at the table in the hotel food court with Lorena and her family, talking, laughing, coloring, eating pizza & chicken fingers, and learning more details from Jessica about Lizzy Maguire then I had ever known before, I knew exactly how all of “this” happened.
It was in fact a series of positive ripple effects that started with one special person living in Minnesota, Lori La Bey, a lady who was open to having a conversation.
“Life” in a sense is one big ripple effect, and for those who choose to extend the positive ripples via the simplicity of human connection, I believe, are those who advance more happiness in a world that can sometimes feel very harsh and challenging.
Ripple effects are powerful, impactful, and differentiators in people’s lives. “It takes a village surrounded by ripple effects.”
More to the Story
For those who would like to learn more about Lorena and her family’s story, I would encourage you to watch the video podcast below that was aired on Lori La Bey’s, Alzheimer’s Speaks radio show in September of 2022.
It is an inspirational story of both challenge and hope regarding Lorena’s life experiences raising three children, with two of her three children having been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia as young adults.
Lorena Demian lost her son David to the disease when he was just 24 years old.
Pediatric & Young Adult Lewy Body Dementia
An Inspirational Story of Help and Hope
On Alzheimer’s Speaks Radio
Deanna Vigliotta
TZMO USA Inc. – Seni
Deanna Vigliotta is the National Sales Manager for TZMO USA Inc. – Seni.
