Meet Teri Roberts of Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Teri Roberts

Hi Teri, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My husband Ryann and I own Kid’s Place, a pediatric physical therapy practice that helps children reach their fullest potential through quality, personalized occupational, physical, speech and feeding therapy services.

Mariah DeVries was a pediatric therapist at Kid’s Place West who joined our team in 2018. There was a spark and tenacity about Mariah that was really electric. She came to work every day with determination to make a difference and a true passion for helping others. Like most therapists, Mariah had frustrations with the nuances of the insurance system and would become disillusioned when patients had to prolongedly wait to see if their immediate needs would get covered or denied. When I would spend time mentoring her through our role in the application process, she would always exclaim that if she had the funds she would purchase every child’s medical equipment and therapy services so families didn’t have to be burdened with this type of stress.

In 2020 Mariah was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer called epithelioid angiosarcoma while pregnant with her first child. After delivering a healthy baby girl, Clara, who is now four years old, she passed away just two months later at the age of 26.

Mariah’s passing was an unfathomable loss for her family, friends, team and the community she served so magnanimously. As a boss, colleague and most importantly a friend, I knew that we needed to find a way to celebrate her life and drive for helping children. I kept going back to the conversations we’d have about the need for resources and aid for families and knew pretty quickly that Mariah’s Miracle was something we had to move forward with.

Mariah’s Miracle’s mission is to enhance the lives of Arizona pediatric patients in critical need of costly equipment and therapy that insurance will not cover. From wheelchair modifications to speech therapy devices to pediatric medical beds, we’ve been able to gift over 55 pediatric patients since 2022. And we’re just getting started!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Whenever you start something new, there’s always a learning curve. When my husband and I decided to create Mariah’s Miracle, we had zero experience running a nonprofit. It was the beginning of the pandemic and we had just lost Mariah. It was undeniably a time of heartbreak and uncertainty, but there was something very healing in starting the organization. She cared so deeply about her patients. To be able to carry out her dreams and bring aid to as many children seemed like the most natural way to keep her legacy alive.

When we became a 501-C3, Mariah’s mother, Sharon McGarvey, joined our team as a Director. Together as a team, we’ve really chosen positivity and joy as we’ve navigated through this process that I think has contributed to our success.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I can’t remember a time in my life when I wanted to do anything other than to better the lives of children. Growing up my dad was a school principal, and at 13 years old I volunteered for the school’s summer program in classrooms with children with special needs. It was there that I realized pediatric therapy was something I needed to learn more about and ultimately pursue. For me, it’s incredibly rewarding to make positive differences in a patient’s developmental journey. There’s no better feeling than watching them meet their milestones and gain confidence they never knew they could achieve.

I met Ryann in college studying physical therapy, and we moved to Goodyear from Illinois in 2007. At the time, the West Valley was still considered a ‘new frontier’ if you will, and there were not a lot of businesses out there, let alone physical therapy practices. So we decided to start our own. We opened Arizona Orthopedic Physical Therapy (AzOPT), which provides patients premium, personalized care led only by licensed physical therapists. Although I’m a pediatric therapist by trade, AzOPT was not intended to treat children. We received so many referrals since there wasn’t much of a presence of pediatric therapy in the area and we opened Kid’s Place the following year. Now, close to 20 years later we have five AzOPT and four Kid’s Place locations across Arizona.

The experience I have as a pediatric therapist and business owner has given me the tools needed to help lead Mariah’s Miracle. I understand firsthand the challenges families go through when they’re forced to pay out-of-pocket expenses and know what it takes to relieve them of the guesswork and logistics in the tedious process to get equipment and services they need. It’s been extremely rewarding to use my expertise in new ways to better our community, and I look forward to helping more patients and their families in the years to come.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
In the U.S. today, one in six children have a developmental disability. Unfortunately, I don’t see that number improving over the next 10 years. I hope the insurance companies would alleviate some complexities in their processes, but it’s not something I can predict at this point. What I do know is that in the next five to 10 years we’ll be hard at work growing stronger as an organization, broadening our awareness and helping as many pediatric patients in Arizona as possible receive the medical equipment and therapy services they need to thrive. Just like what Mariah would have wanted.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mariahsmiracle.org and www.azopt.net
• Instagram: teriroberts4goodyear