Help Remi Learn to Move
Donation protected
On July 10, 2018, Remilia Joy Massella was born with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)... low oxygen to the brain resulting in damage. Born limp and unresponsive, Remi was rushed to be intubated and soon began seizuring, a result of brain trauma. In the first weeks, Remila fought for her life… cooling therapy, respiratory issues, medications, and additional intubations. At the one week mark we received the most wonderful and terrible news yet - we were finally able to hold our sweet girl and her MRI results confirmed the severe brain damage we’d prayed wouldn’t be there. The doctors couldn’t say what that meant for Remi’s future but, on some level we knew. We knew, because we’d been there before… with our son, Emerick.
This month Remilia turned 1 year old, and with that, we received her current assessment. We’ve seen so much growth and improvement in her strength and social connection, that even with her recent Cerebral Palsy diagnosis, we were really disheartened to learn there has not been any improvement with her motor development. Remi is currently functioning within a 4-6 month age range. Unable to remain in tummy time for more than 30-45 seconds or sit unassisted, we are seeing small successes - a new interest in toys and more attempts to “play”. Her therapies have shown much success, but as parents, we know it’s not enough.
While Remilia’s journey has been vastly different than Emerick’s (Remi was unable to feed properly, despite our prayers and efforts, and relies on a surgically placed g-tube for feedings) we knew from experience that intense and extensive therapy would be needed to give Remi a fighting chance at as normal of a life as possible. We started with occupational and physical therapy, but we haven’t seen a change in how her brain is communicating with her muscles. There’s a reason for this… a missing therapy link we are hoping our community can help us with…
When Emerick was 15 months, we started Anat Baniel Method (ABM)... a NeuroMovement therapy that helps the brain create new patterns and organizations. It was within weeks that we started to see amazing results.
He started using his hands more, scooting, clapping, signing, babbling. He went from being unable to get into a seated position by himself to doing so successfully and started army crawling! After continued lessons and amazing improvement it was clear that Emerick was on an uphill trajectory. We yearn to give Remi the same opportunity to thrive and hit these same amazing milestones.
This is where, dear friends, we are asking for help. ABM is expensive for a family with one special needs child and, while we are blessed to have two beautiful children with Cerebral Palsy, Remi needs more than what we can currently financially provide for her. We are looking to our loving community to help sponsor a year of ABM therapy for Remi.
As you can imagine, it's not cheap. For two sessions a month (12 lessons total) it's around $1,500. Thats rent... a mortgage... multiple car payments. One year of treatment will be close to $18,000 which is more than we can afford as a family. Our hope is to provide Remi with as many sessions as possible to give her the best chance at hitting her developmental milestones and increasing her quality of life during this second year around the sun. Please consider a gift to help support our girl. Any extra funds will be used so that Kirsten can attend seminars to help further Remi (and Emerick's!) future.
All gifts will receive as personalized thank you picture to you from our Remilia Joy and the Massella family! We love you all!
xxoo,
Kirsten, Aaron, Emerick & Remilia
#ABM4REMI #mybeautifulbrainbabes #hopeforHIE #30daysofRemiliaJoy
This month Remilia turned 1 year old, and with that, we received her current assessment. We’ve seen so much growth and improvement in her strength and social connection, that even with her recent Cerebral Palsy diagnosis, we were really disheartened to learn there has not been any improvement with her motor development. Remi is currently functioning within a 4-6 month age range. Unable to remain in tummy time for more than 30-45 seconds or sit unassisted, we are seeing small successes - a new interest in toys and more attempts to “play”. Her therapies have shown much success, but as parents, we know it’s not enough.
While Remilia’s journey has been vastly different than Emerick’s (Remi was unable to feed properly, despite our prayers and efforts, and relies on a surgically placed g-tube for feedings) we knew from experience that intense and extensive therapy would be needed to give Remi a fighting chance at as normal of a life as possible. We started with occupational and physical therapy, but we haven’t seen a change in how her brain is communicating with her muscles. There’s a reason for this… a missing therapy link we are hoping our community can help us with…
When Emerick was 15 months, we started Anat Baniel Method (ABM)... a NeuroMovement therapy that helps the brain create new patterns and organizations. It was within weeks that we started to see amazing results.
He started using his hands more, scooting, clapping, signing, babbling. He went from being unable to get into a seated position by himself to doing so successfully and started army crawling! After continued lessons and amazing improvement it was clear that Emerick was on an uphill trajectory. We yearn to give Remi the same opportunity to thrive and hit these same amazing milestones.This is where, dear friends, we are asking for help. ABM is expensive for a family with one special needs child and, while we are blessed to have two beautiful children with Cerebral Palsy, Remi needs more than what we can currently financially provide for her. We are looking to our loving community to help sponsor a year of ABM therapy for Remi.
As you can imagine, it's not cheap. For two sessions a month (12 lessons total) it's around $1,500. Thats rent... a mortgage... multiple car payments. One year of treatment will be close to $18,000 which is more than we can afford as a family. Our hope is to provide Remi with as many sessions as possible to give her the best chance at hitting her developmental milestones and increasing her quality of life during this second year around the sun. Please consider a gift to help support our girl. Any extra funds will be used so that Kirsten can attend seminars to help further Remi (and Emerick's!) future.
All gifts will receive as personalized thank you picture to you from our Remilia Joy and the Massella family! We love you all!
xxoo,
Kirsten, Aaron, Emerick & Remilia
#ABM4REMI #mybeautifulbrainbabes #hopeforHIE #30daysofRemiliaJoy
Organizer
Kirsten M. Massella
Organizer
San Diego, CA