Open Eyes

Hi! It has been awhile. First I would like to thank everyone who finds their way here and supports and sends blessings to this little girl. She has truly changed many people's lives for the better and her progress continues to inspire us all.

Cognitively, Sienna continues to make huge gains after her HBOT treatments and with her nutrition protocols. She is signing with fair consistency indicating when she is hungry, when she wants to get down, when she is all done with something, and a few other small signs. She has become more vocal and attempts words...although still not much progress here. She can say Kitty cat and mama and hey and hi with consistency. Keep in mind she is about 2 and a half so this is fairly far behind her age group...but still wonderful progress for her. She is definitely smart. She just seems to be trapped in a body that will not allow her to fully express herself at this time.

Physically, her eyes wander sometimes showing weakness and her leg muscles continue to be very tight. The casting was unsuccessful in that it caused too much skin break down and the therapists decided to try a different type of bracing. These are helping a little bit for standing. Although the therapist actually said to me she has no idea what to do about her feet and correctly positioning them at this point. HBOT definitely helped with her muscles for awhile but as is normal when treatments are not continued or completed, there is the possibility of some regression. Every child is different and needs their own magic number of treatments to fully recover. Luckily this regression was only seen in her muscles and not in her cognition.  Her hand strength is not what it should be and I was finally informed that her inability to stand was not only because of her feet not staying flat but also because her back muscles are too weak to support her and she is "trained" to stand the only way she knows how. I am hoping the hippotherapy will help with this. The reality is, in order to get her doing everything she should, it would take around the clock effort and work. I find I am overwhelmed at times but I am doing the best I can. The services she gets are completely inadequate in this regard so it is up to the parent to make these things happen.

HBOT works. A lot of things can help. It is a fact that the brain is able to replenish itself, rewire, and regrow. Definitely given the proper nutrition and avoiding further damage. The brain can be trained to overcome disabilities and injury.


Here is where I would like to take Sienna next. She WILL get better. There IS hope.

www.familyhopecenter.org