Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
I have had many people ask me about how cerebral palsy has effected each of my children…and I realized that I have not given a background of each of them which includes medical and developmental history so I thought I would start today!
Meet Taylor:
Taylor is 17 years old. She was born on December 21st, 1992. Her original due date was April 1st. She was born at 24 weeks gestation and weighed 1 1b 12 oz. Due to being born so premature she experienced a grade IV bleed on both sides of her brain. After one month old she developed hydrocephalus on the brain. The bleed on her brain prevented the fluid to pass through her brain, which caused her to have a VP shunt implanted in order to allow the fluid to pass through her body. She also experienced seizures, frequent infections, jaundice, and was on oxygen for the first 2 ½ months. Due to all the complications Taylor was in the hospital for 5 months and the Doctor’s told me she would never walk, talk, and be fully dependent on an adult for the rest of her life and that if she demonstrates some what of a smile then that would be a miracle. During her first 5 months of life. Taylor experienced four shunt surgeries. Due to the length she was on oxygen she experienced ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity) with her eyes, which required her to have surgery on both of her eyes to prevent her from becoming blind.
At age two, after many cat scans & MRIs the Neurologist discovered that Taylor was missing her Corpus Collosum (the pathway between both sides of her brain). Due to the damage that occurred in her brain, Taylor’s body began to go through early puberity (Purcosious Puberty). At age 9, Taylor began to have botox treatments on a regular basis into her hamstrings and her right arm every 6 months for the next few years. At age 13, Taylor had an adductor release, and had a femoral derotation osteotomy. At age 16, Taylor became very ill with severe headaches, which caused her to be hospitalized on/off for two months. She then had her VP shunt revised/replaced.
The normal milestones as far as talking, walking, potty training, etc… always came later in life. I was told if Taylor didn’t talk by age 4 then she would never talk. She began to talk when she was 5. I was told she would never walk, and she walked when she was 7. She toileted independently at age 6 ½. In the past we experienced extreme challenges with her behaviors and in the past year her behavior has improved drastically.
Since VERY early on Taylor received Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Hippotherapy, Early Intervention Services, wore DAFOs (leg braces) most of her life, and was fully integrated in school with support until 6th grade.
To say the last 17 years have been easy would be a complete lie. We have climbed up some huge mountains…we have had challenges throughout all stages of development and have experienced extreme challenges with negative behaviors, motor skills, speech/language, academics, amongst other areas. AND we have experienced great gains in those areas as well.
Taylor is a funny girl. She loves to be around people, loves photography, loves music, loves her church, and loves God. She loves life and makes a difference everywhere she goes. Here’s a short little video so that you can get an idea of Miss Taylor.
Until Next Time,
E
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