Help Abigail go to physio and gain strength!
Hi Friends,
As many of you know 2 years ago Jordain and Abigail's lives were turned upside down when Abigail got Transverse Myletis (TM). There are generally three stages of recovery full, partial and none. Abby has had partial recovery, and has come a long way. When Abigail first became ill, her outcome looked grim. Abigail spent several months in BC Children’s hospital, and was on a breathing machine for many of these months. The doctors initially suggested a tracheotomy and prepared Jordain that Abigail may never walk or have much function again. While Abigail does still have significant paralysis in all 4 limbs that limits her mobility greatly, she has shown great resilience and strength and has proven many people wrong.
Abigail was living in Kelowna with her mom when she became paralyzed but because Jordain is a single parent and Kelowna doesn't have many resources for children with disabilities, they had to make the move to Calgary AB to access more resources and be close to family who could help out.
One of the advantages of being so young is that children can continue to recover for years from TM with the right supports and interventions. Abigail has made a lot of progress. She can walk with a walker and AFO’S (ankle-foot orthosis) which is a support intended to control the position and motion of the ankle, compensate for weakness, or correct deformities. She also had a nerve transfer surgery last March that helped her regain some function in her hands. It has been suggested that an intensive intervention would be the catalyst for her next level of progress. Our hope is for Abby to gain as much mobility as possible so that she can live her best life independently (eventually).
Although she has made much progress she has recently hit a plateau, and we would like to fundraise to get her a 3 week intensive physio therapy session with Smile therapy in Calgary. Her main goals would be to help with gross motor function and coordination, as well as a large focus on core and upper extremity strength. Abigail may be eligible to have a tendon transfer surgery to help her regain even more function in her hands however, her arm muscles will need some intense strengthening so that they are able to take a tendon without causing any damage. It has been an expensive journey for Jordain and Abigail and we thank everyone for their help!
The intensive program, SMILE (sensory, motor integrated learning experience) is research based and has a track record of amazing results for kiddos with similar mobility challenges as Abby.
Jordain is an amazing individual who has been tenacious in advocating and supporting Abby through this whole ordeal without losing sight of her own dreams and still dreaming of how to ensure Abby has a wonderful life with the opportunity to pursue her own dreams one day. Jordain does it all -she is a full-time student, she works to support herself, volunteers and is a great single parent to Abigail. Unfortunately Jordain’s health benefits will only be able to cover $25 of a session for Abigail which is why we need your help!
As you can imagine there are many costs associated with being a single parent particularly of a kiddo with significant disabilities. The SMILE therapy program is an out of pocket expense. This will be approximately $5500.00 for the 3 week intensive program through SMILE. Jordain's hope is for Abigail to attend this summer and having some financial support will help make this possible. We know Abby will make fantastic gains with this program. She is so determined and always tells everyone how strong she is. She's is a beautiful and fierce little red head!
