Candace Shetzler-Gunter inspires children to reach their potential
Candace Shetzler-Gunter was used to dealing with children with developmental issues, but life threw her a curveball when she had a difficult pregnancy with her son, Chance.
She had blood clots in her legs during the pregnancy, and after Chance was born, frequent illness led to a lot of trips to A.I. DuPont children's hospital in Wilmington.
"This child is screaming in pain for eight hours. When you know something isn't right, something isn't right. It went on for him on all those medications for two years," she said
Today, Chance is a healthy, rambunctious 5-year-old with an affinity for Batman and Spider-Man. But helping children remains Shetzler-Gunter's life work.
"I couldn't decide whether I wanted to be a doctor or a teacher," she said. "My parents really wanted me to be a very self-sufficient woman. Going to medical school to be a physician for eight to 10 years really wasn't necessarily a viable option."
But she's always been drawn to kids. "I think they're so spontaneous and genuine. It's amazing to spend time with them. I think oftentimes they know their strengths and challenges better than adults," she said.
Instead of medical school, Shetzler-Gunter trained to be an occupational therapist, which she called a marriage of both worlds that allows her to help kids work on their developmental challenges in a fun, educational way. She said therapy with kids helps her forget about whatever problems she may be having on a given day because the focus is on helping the kids have fun and blossom.
In 2004, Shetzler-Gunter was one of the founders of Child's Play By The Bay along with Alesia Griffith. Shetzler-Gunter said at the time, there was a lack of therapy services for children in the Cape Region. Child's Play also served as an integrated preschool, offering an early education center in addition to day-care services.
"It was one of my greatest accomplishments. I loved Child's Play," Sheltzler-Gunter said.
She sold her share of the organization in 2009 and left a year later. After leaving Child's Play, Shetzler-Gunter started her own consulting service called A Child's Potential, which involves training teachers and school professionals in addition to offering therapy. A native of Smyrna, she said she had to go out of state to train as an occupational therapist at Medical College of Virginia in Richmond and at Belmont University in Nashville because there were no programs in Delaware.
"I really strive to bring greater resources to our community. Until recently, we didn't really have a lot of great resources in that," she said.
Work has come full circle for Shetzler-Gunter as Chance has taken an interest in helping out with children in occupational therapy, serving as a peer partner, acting as a playmate for children with autism.
Shetzler-Gunter vacationed in the Cape Region as a kid and later when she worked in Wilmington, she said, she spent a lot of time thinking of ways to get down to the beach. She moved to the area full time 17 years ago and met her husband, Stuart, 12 years ago when he was manager of the Lighthouse in Dewey Beach. He said she had complained about the condition of the ladies room, and he got her phone number to address her complaint. He took that opportunity to ask her out for a lunch date. They've been married for seven years and live in Gosling Creek, off Robinsonville Road.
Five is maybe the most curious of ages, and Chance helps ensure that Stewart and Candace get a chance to serve as human Wikipedias to answer his questions about the world.
His latest question, she said, is how he can get himself a baby brother.
