by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
About 32 years ago on a Friday night a healthy 17-month-old Geraud “Roddie” Moreland went to sleep. The next morning he woke-up and tried speaking to his mother, but he couldn’t.
“It was a very faint whisper,” said his mother Sherndina Moreland.
She called the doctor and he said to watch Roddie over the weekend. Sherndina was told to bring him into the doctors office at 9 a.m. on Monday if he didn’t get any better.
He didn’t.
“By then all of his speech was gone,” she said.
It took nearly five years for doctors to figure out what happened while Roddie was sleeping that Friday night.
“We went through 58 doctors; we were in Dallas, Atlanta, Tampa, Oklahoma, and right in our backyard at Shands Gainesville he was diagnosed at the age of 6,” said Sherndina. “A blood clot had ruptured on the left side of his brain.”
Roddie was diagnosed at Shands Gainesville with expressive and receptive aphasia. He also has the worst case of epilepsy and suffers from three different types of seizures.
Prior to that diagnosis, Sherndina said there were doctors who had diagnosed her son with severe mental retardation, autism, and one even said he was profoundly deaf. Roddie was even fitted for and wore hearing aids for a year.
But the most heartbreaking doctor visit came in Oklahoma when doctors told Sherndina and her husband that Roddie was going to be put in an institution for the rest of his life. Roddie was 3-and-a-half years old at the time.
“They had the paperwork filled out, a room ready for him and we were asked to sign the papers,” she said. “They said to us, ‘He is going to be a vegetable the rest of his life, forget he ever existed.’
“I knew in here,” she said pointing to her heart, “there was no way this could be.”
Sherndina didn’t accept the diagnosis, declined the doctors’ offer and brought Roddie home.
She then took Roddie to Shands where he was diagnosed with expressive and receptive aphasia. The doctors said Roddie was one in a million.
“In thirty years of practice the doctors told us they had only seen one other man like Roddie,” said Sherndina.
Expressive and receptive aphasia involves two different things. Expressive aphasia means Roddie has difficulty conveying thoughts through speech or writing. Receptive aphasia means he has difficulty understanding spoken or written language. Roddie can hear and see words, but he doesn’t know what they mean.
“Roddie defied all odds,” she said. “He is a miracle man.”
Now at the age of 33, Roddie owns a vending machine business and he works part time at the North Florida School as a custodian. Roddie is celebrating this month because it has been one year since he opened Roddie’s Vending Service.
But it wasn’t an easy process getting to where he is today. In 2004, Roddie and his family applied to the Micro-Enterprise Training and Technical Assistance (METTA) project, operated by the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council and the University of South Florida (USF) Division of Applied Research and Educational Supports.
“The project was designed to assist people with developmental disabilities to start a business,” said Sherndina. “Roddie was one of five people in the state who was selected.”
Once selected, Roddie and his family went through two years of mentoring. His group of team members consisted of his parents, a Vocational Rehabilitation counselor, a speech therapist, a business consultant, SSI Benefits coordinator, and representatives from Hope Haven Children’s Clinic and Family Center and the Agency for Persons with Disabilities.
“The team met one day every month for two years and discussed the business planning process,” said Sherndina. “Roddie was at every meeting and it was a way for everyone to get to know Roddie.”
During the meetings they talked about different things Roddie likes. After brainstorming some ideas they came up with a vending machine business.
“He (Roddie) loves to shop at Sam’s, he loves going to the bank, wearing blue, smiley faces, riding in cars and cleaning,” said Sherndina.
Since he likes wearing blue and smiley faces, his uniform is blue and his logo is a bright yellow smiley face.
Vocational Rehabilitation helped get the business off the ground financially by purchasing 30 three-head vending machines. The Small Business Administration at Gateway was also very helpful to Roddie.
“They ran all of the financial numbers and came up with a financial business plan,” she said. “We would not have made it without them.”
Uniforms were made for Roddie and he has a container on wheels with his supplies including the food for the machines and cleaning supplies. Currently, Roddie has 20 business locations and he is looking for more. Some of the businesses Roddie works with include PNL Seafood Restaurant, International Car Sales, Inc. and Top Choice.
“Roddie’s goal is to turn the money over to bigger vending machines that hold things like apples, yogurt and veggies,” said Sherndina.
A very important aspect of Roddie’s business is how he communicates. Because he cannot speak, Roddie uses a machine called a Dynavox to communicate. The machine hangs around his neck and when he needs to communicate he just has to press the picture on the screen and it will say what he means.
Donald Russell is Roddie’s supportive employment provider and assists Roddie with whatever he may need.
When Roddie said hello, the machine said, “Hello, my name is Roddie Moreland, I am 33 years old and I am the boss.”
Roddie also said his favorite part of his job is cleaning the machines. He also likes to go to the gym and walk on the treadmill, go to the movies, bowling and Pottery Works. But his favorite place to go is Dave & Busters.
Right now Roddie receives a Medicaid waiver and Sherndina said she hopes that one day he will not have to depend on the waiver.
“We hope one day he can walk away from that,” she said.
Roddie works on his vending machine business Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 12:30-4 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Roddie works at the North Florida School.
Colleen Miller, vice principal at the North Florida School, said Roddie has been a custodian at the school for three years. He sweeps the floors, mops, vacuums, cleans the restrooms and windows.
“He fills a very valuable spot for us,” she said. “He likes doing it right and he gets his work done.
“When you give him his paycheck he’s so happy.”
Miller said Roddie is very determined and has been wonderful to work with.
“People with disabilities have such pride and they are so determined to do a good job,” said Miller. “It makes them feel like they are a contributing member of society.”
Miller added that the new business has been a very successful endeavor for Roddie.
“That is the most powerful thing, to be able to have a business,” she said. “To be independent like that, it’s awesome.”
Roddie’s family is very proud of what he has been able to do for himself.
“It’s just fantastic, because he has a life,” said Sherndina. “He has a business, he is out in the community.
“He does what everyone else does. Now we are just working on finding him a girlfriend.”