Published: December 27, 2006 04:44 pm      

Local woman gets support

DUNCAN — On Tuesday morning, Robin Arter, executive director of Duncan Group Homes, Inc., sat down with Misty Cargill and together they listened to a replay of the National Public Radio segment which aired the Friday before.

A shy soul, Cargill was reluctant to be in the spotlight. She had just returned from a Christmas visit with her family and it and this was the first time she’d heard the broadcast.

“She was excited to hear herself,” stated Arter. “She really enjoyed it.”

“We’ve tried to keep this positive for her,” continued Arter. “She knows that all this attention will help make things better for people who follow behind her. It’s a positive thing; her legacy.”

Since the national broadcast, the group home has received messages of support from all over the country, including California, Colorado and Georgia.

“They are all very positive,” said Arter. NPR’s Shapiro works and lives in Washington, D.C., and became involved with the story when contacted by a doctor friend from California.

“The doctor had written an article in out state association (Oklahoma Community-Based Provider) newsletter. It was about the success rate of transplants,” Arter recalled.

When Cargill’s case worker contacted the doctor for more information, the doctor contacted Shapiro.

Shapiro got on a plane and spent three days in Duncan, living in the group home and assisted living facility because, due to the annual Pig Show, there were no hotel rooms to be found.

“We teased him that now he really had experienced our program,” said Arter.

“He (Shapiro) is a self-proclaimed city boy, who even visited the hog show one day.”

Arter said the next step for Cargill is additional neuro-psychological testing in late January. “We now have legal counsel involved, so we’ll tread lightly for awhile and see what happens,” she said. “The Oklahoma Disability Law Center is looking at the documents and will advise us what to do further.” And more important than the national response, said Arter, is the local concern and support.

“We’re thrilled about the support we get right here (in Duncan),” Arter concluded.