Frankie's Therapy Adventure!


It is safe to say that Chrissy and Adam McGale are leaving their mark on the world.  Those of you who know them know that they bring joy and happiness to everyone around them.  Needless to say, when it was time to start their family, no one deserved it more.  Unfortunately, the start of their family came with a surprise.

 Frankie was born unresponsive via emergency c-section with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck 3x. He was diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE 2) which means his brain and major organs were significantly deprived of oxygen, and as a result of his brain injury he has Cerebral Palsy.

Fast forward almost two years later and Frankie is one of the happiest kiddos you've ever met. His smile is contagious and his joy shines out of him. His Cerebral Palsy however is nowhere near mild. The Glenrose has told them he will never walk unassisted (if at all.) He's still working hard to be able to hold his head steady for more than a few seconds at a time and he isn't able to sit on his own yet. His hands and arms are tight and uncoordinated, and he's unable to feed himself or hold his bottle. He also has difficulty swallowing so they are having conversations about a feeding tube and his doctors are unsure if he'll ever be able to speak.  They are utilizing all of the traditional approaches covered by public and private health plan with limited success.  Being ever the optimists, Chrissy and Adam have hope and continue to research alternative and new therapies.


One of these therapies is ABM - the Anat Baniel method of Neuromovement, which is based on the idea that neuroplasticity can help form new connections in the brain.  Basically retrain the brain to work differently.  For Frankie's three intensives so far, he's seen two wonderful practitioners out of Sherwood Park. Slowly, but surely, they are seeing progress; his neck control is improving, his hands are relaxing more, he’s working hard on learning to army crawl, and during last week’s ABM intensive he learned to wave hello!

They have also been given the opportunity for Frankie to see Anat herself at her treatment centre in California!  They will continue to explore and navigate Frankie’s diagnosis the best they can with the love and support of their friends and family.



 The McGales have been a part of the Servus Credit Union family for close to 10 years now.  Chrissy exudes a genuine warmth and compassion to everyone around her.  When she has friends in need she is at the front of the line to help.  When a friend lost her husband tragically, she was the one to start a fundraising activity to help the family.  As the scope of this activity spiraled to newer and newer heights and more and more people got involved, she took a step back and let it happen.  It became bigger than her and she was fine with that.  She didn't do it for recognition.  She had a friend in need and it was the right thing to do.  That is just who she is.

 They are exploring every avenue possible for Frankie to allow him the best life possible.  They are not doing this for any other reason that because it is the right thing to do.  Unfortunately many of these alternative therapies are not covered by public or private plans and are expensive for anyone, let along someone currently on maternity leave.  We are hoping to raise funds to help pay for Frankie's therapy trip to California and to help a great family be able to do the right thing for a great kid!
 
For those that would like to follow Frankie's journey, Chirssy will be posting updates on the following places

 Instagram: chrissymcgale