Support Kaden Mackinnon SDR Surgery

My name is Brittney and I am a close friend of Thomas and Alexandra MacKinnon. As many of you know, their son Kaden has cerebral palsy. He was diagnosed at 2 years old after he wasn’t meeting motor milestones.

Kaden was born two months premature, and whil he was hospitalized he suffered from apnea, feeding intolerance, collapsed lungs and sepsis while in the NICU for his first two months of life. Due to these complications, Kaden developed brain damage which would later be diagnosed as cerebral palsy.

Despite Kaden’s disability, he is the most caring, bright, easy going and funny kid. He is a sports lover who enjoys playing sledge hockey, challenger baseball and Parastorm swimming.

When Kaden was first diagnosed, health care providers weren’t sure if Kaden would be able to walk. Since then, Kaden has been determined to defy the odds and work hard to prove that he can break through glass ceilings.

Kaden’s parents, Alex & Tom, have been Kaden’s biggest supporters. With that and Alex’s endless researching of therapies and treatments have helped to get Kaden where he is today.

Kaden has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, so he walks up on his tippy toes because of the spasticity in his leg muscles. It causes his calf muscles to continuously contract and pull on his heels, preventing them from touching the ground. Walking like this comes with adverse effects, such as chronic pain, frequent falls, poor posture, stiffness in their achilles tendon, all which will most likely worsen as he ages. Treatment for these complications is often multiple surgeries such as achilles lengthening surgeries or hip surgeries.

When Kaden was 4 years old they suggested he get a surgery called selective dorsal rhizotomy. During this surgery the surgeon exposes nerves in the spine and separates the sensory nerves in the legs from the motor nerves in the legs. He selectively slices abnormal sensory nerves to the legs. This causes the spasticity to release in Kaden’s legs. This surgery is known for improving mobility and walking abilities, increased stamina, better balance with fewer falls, improved sitting and standing postures, and less pain from spasticity.

Thankfully, Kaden has received a surgery date of October 24, 2024 after almost 3 years of waiting. The Mackinnon family will need to travel to Montreal for the surgery which includes 4-6 weeks of intensive rehab at Shriners hospital Montreal following the surgery. The surgeon has told the family that he could get Kaden’s gait/walking close to perfect, getting him off his toes and preventing further pain or surgeries. The surgeon follows his patients for 15 years after surgery and says 84% of patients usually don’t need any follow up orthopaedic surgeries after SDR surgery.

We are asking for donations to help the Mackinnon’s with the cost of travel, cost of being out of province for 4-6 weeks, any additional specialized equipment they may need for Kaden’s recovery and any additional PT/OT. Thank you in advance for all your donations! Any little bit helps!