The birthday lunch was not supposed to happen.
In fact, it was not that long ago that it would have been impossible.
For most of her life, Sarah Lang’s world was no bigger than the walls of her house.
“Sarah never would step foot out of her home,” said Megan Reams, Service & Support Specialist (SSA) at the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, who has been working with Sarah for 7 years.
Years of anxiety, rooted in childhood warnings about how awful the world was, had built walls that became impossible to scale. As a child, Sarah wasn’t allowed to go anywhere except school. She grew up without friends. After her parents passed, the isolation deepened.
For years, the only place she would go was the Rite Aid across the street from her house.
This birthday lunch was not just celebrating Sarah’s 55th birthday. It was a celebration of how far she has come, and how much that journey has been powered by a persistent support system committed to helping this woman overcome her fears. The same fears that have long prevented her from simply living her life.
In 2019, when Megan became Sarah’s SSA, she sought the services of a new Homemaker/Personal Care (HPC) provider for Sarah. HPCs support individuals to be more independent while meeting their daily living needs. They advance individuals' independence within their home and community and help individuals meet daily living needs.
Sarah has been diagnosed with Mild Intellectual Disability since birth and as you could imagine, was a bit reluctant to change.
At the conclusion of the search for a new provider, Sarah chose Taundra Ezell, an independent provider, whom, Megan says, has forever altered the trajectory of this individual’s life.
“Taundra never gave up and she saw past Sarah's hurtful words and Sarah ignoring her at times,” Megan said. “This past year Sarah has been thriving! She has started going to stores, walking to the library by her house, purchasing almost all new home furnishings and kitchen appliances.”
It was admittedly not easy, Taundra says. “She was negative. She did not want to leave the house. But the more I worked with her the more calm she was, and she started depending on me.”
The two have bonded over the past 7 years, Taundra’s voice becoming a source of comfort for Sarah. She calls her provider at 7:30 every morning, asking her what she is doing, and, more importantly, what are they going to be doing together today.
“I love doing what I do,” Taundra said. “And I truly enjoy working with Sarah. You feel good when you see a change in a person.”
For Taundra, her individuals are like family because family was her inspiration to become a provider. She grew up with a brother that had a disability.
“My mother made us promise that if anything ever happened to her, we’d continue taking care of him,” she said. “I wouldn’t want anyone mistreating my brother so I’m not going to cheat anyone I serve.”
Now, back to that lunch invitation.
Sarah’s favorite restaurant is KFC. But she has never been inside a KFC. She only goes through the drive through with Taundra.
Megan had Taundra work on convincing Sarah to attend the birthday lunch, and also reached out to her Lucas DD colleagues, Sommer Clayborne and Susan Peth. Both had previously worked with Sarah as SSAs.
“She always says how she misses them so much and wishes she could see them,” Megan said.
The Team Sarah reunion included lunch, balloons, a special birthday headband and gifts. It happens in many restaurants almost every day. For this particular restaurant, and on that particular day, it was a monumental achievement to be doing something so simple.
“We all shared where Sarah was and where she is now and how proud we are all of her,” Megan said. “Sarah was smiling from ear to ear! It made all of our hearts so, so happy!”
Progress comes with persistence — and people who refuse to give up.
Before Megan, there was Sommer. Then Susan. Each woman, over the course of years, chipped away at fear with patience.
That’s what meeting someone where they are really looks like. Not forcing. Not rushing. Showing up. Every day.
Change began to show up in small joys.
A trip to Walmart. A roller pin on sale. Fourteen cookie cutters that somehow became 110. Cooking barbecue or baking beloved peach cobbler.
This is what teamwork looks like. Years of coordination. Consistency. Refusing to quit when progress stalls. Refusing to take hurtful words personally. Believing in someone until they can believe in themselves.
“I held back tears during the entire lunch thinking about how far Sarah has come,” Sommer said. “And Taundra Ezell has been nothing short of a prayer answered.”
“It just made Sarah’s day that someone made her feel special,” Taundra said.
And that’s the heart of this story.
This wasn’t one person swooping in to “fix” anything. It was years of collaboration — Susan, Sommer, Megan, Taundra — each building on the last. Each believing the next step was possible.
“This is a huge reminder of why I love my job,” Megan said. “Our jobs can be very challenging at times but seeing Sarah’s smile tugged at my heart strings and really put things in perspective.”
Meeting people where they are means honoring their fear without letting it define their future. It means accepting the 7:30 a.m. phone calls. Celebrating the first library card. Baking the Valentine’s cake instead of buying one. Standing beside someone when they say, “I don’t want to go,” and gently saying, “I’m not going to leave you by yourself.”
Seven years ago, this lunch would have been unthinkable. Now, it’s just the next adventure.
And maybe that’s the most powerful part of Sarah’s story: Not that she walked into KFC for the first time at age 55 — but that she now believes there’s something worth walking toward.
Because when people meet you where you are, walk beside you long enough, and refuse to give up, the world doesn’t feel so awful anymore.