Whole Foods staffers help little girl in need

When Anne Tate visited the Whole Foods supermarket at Annapolis Harbour Mall last week, several staffers dropped by her table in the cafe to welcome her back.

One jokingly offered her a job on the graveyard shift in the shop's bakery. Demonstration Specialist Frances Chumley then took Anne into the bakery to greet the staff and make some cinnamon twists.

It's not likely Anne will fill out an employment application anytime soon - the St. Margaret's resident is only 9 years old.

In mid-August, the girl, a 4th-grader at Indian Creek School, spent several hours as a member of Whole Food's middle-of-the-night gang that prepares artisan breads, buns, rolls, pastries, cakes and other baked goods for its early-bird shoppers. Another shift works during daytime hours to keep the display cases filled with fresh goods.

About two dozen Whole Foods employees are routinely inside the store when it is closed. In addition to the bakers, employees are restocking shelves, arranging displays and preparing meats and fish for sale.

Anne, her mother, Katherine, and her father, Skip, were there for a special reason: the child was facing a critical electroencephalography exam (EEG) at 8 a.m. and was under strict doctor's orders to remain fully awake throughout the night. The Whole Foods staff found a way to make that happen.

On July 28, Anne went to bed and woke up an hour later distressed and feeling "unable to breathe." Her mother noticed the child was drooling from one corner of her mouth, her face was sagging and her speech was slurred. All signs of some kind of seizure.

"I called 911, the first time in my life I've done that," said Mrs. Tate, who assists her husband with his business, Happy Travelers RV Rentals on Route 50 near exit 29.

Paramedics from the Cape St. Claire and Arnold Station fire companies responded within minutes. Anne's symptoms were fading, but she still rode to Anne Arundel Medical Center's emergency room in an ambulance with her anxious mother. The days that followed were a whir of tests by concerned pediatricians and neurologists. Anne's doctor, Dr. Robert Graw, of Davidsonville Pediatrics and founder of Nighttime Pediatrics, arranged for an EEG right away.

He informed the family that Anne needed to be sleep-deprived for the exam. She would then sleep during the exam, her forehead plastered with electronic monitoring devices, linked by yards of wire to various computers. Her parents kept her awake until 1:30 a.m., then let her sleep for five hours before bringing her in to AAMC for the test.

After an MRI exam prescribed by Dr. Bhagwan Moorjani, a pediatrician specializing in clinical neurophysiology at Children's National Medical Center, a brain tumor was ruled out. It was thought that Anne might have Benign Rolandic Epilepsy. It's a form of childhood epilepsy that is relatively mild, and begins and ends, in most cases, during the childhood years. The seizures tend to occur when a child is asleep.

Several weeks later, Dr. Moorjani needed a second EEG that eventually confirmed Anne has Benign Rolandic Epilepsy. This time, Anne had to sleep from 10 p.m. until 1:30 a.m., staying completely awake from 1:30 a.m. until the EEG began at 8 a.m.

"Keeping her awake by reading a book or watching TV or going to a movie might have caused her to doze off," Mrs. Tate said. "Even sleeping for one or two minutes would ruin the results of the exam."

The worried mom thought of doing a scavenger hunt in the aisles of a new 24-hour Wal-Mart. Then, the day before the EEG, Mrs. Tate went shopping for produce at Whole Foods. She had an idea. "I was looking for an activity that would alleviate Anne's anxiety about the test."

"Mrs. Tate came to me and explained what was going on," said Muriel Ortit, the Whole Foods store manager. "Mrs. Tate had met one of our food demonstrators, Frances Chumley, and knew her. I spoke to the bakery staff and they had no problems. Frances volunteered to help right away, though she usually works during store hours."

Ms. Ortit agreed to allow the family to tour the store after hours and work in the bakery from 2:30 to 6:30 a.m. on the day of the EEG.

A dozen Whole Foods employees turned out to greet the child when Anne arrived at 2:30 a.m. with her parents. Her younger brother, Spencer, had been packed off to his first sleepover at a friend's house.

The store tour and baking adventure was a complete surprise for the child. Once the behind-the-scenes tour ended, Mrs. Chumley took over. When the new Whole Foods opens next May 5 at Annapolis Towne Centre, Mrs. Chumley, a mother of four, will be the store's culinary center director.

Bakery employee Keely McCurdy bent over the little girl and asked if she could pray for Anne. "I felt special, that she really cared," said Anne. "Everyone was doing something really nice for me that they didn't have to do." Johnny Adams, a late-night baker, offered her some cookies.

In a corner of the cafe, Mrs. Chumley, a Greek-American, set up a small pastry-making center. She showed Anne how to mix pastry dough, and roll and twist it, to make her favorite cookies. "It's called Koulouryia," said Mrs. Chumley, flashing a big smile. "They're Greek twisted butter cookies. That kept us busy for quite a while."

At 6:30 a.m., the sun was rising as was most of the dough. Carrying a package of still-warm Koulouryia, the family departed, buoyed by the well-wishes of the Whole Foods staff. The Tates ate a quick breakfast at the Double-T Diner, before heading to the AAMC for the EEG.

By 9 a.m., studded with electrodes, Anne Tate was fast asleep on the EEG gurney.

Wendi Winters is a freelance writer who lives on the Broadneck Peninsula.