Stephon was diagnosed at 18 months of age with Left Hemiplegia. We found out shortly after that he had a pediatric stroke around 8 to 9 months of age. He had met most of his milestones; however he was using few words and did not start to walk until age 15 months. I would ask the pediatrician questions about that and he told me not to worry. Stephon would walk and talk when he was ready.
I felt something was wrong when he started to walk and had a profound limp. I went back to my pediatrician and asked for a referral to a specialist. When I first heard that Stephon had a type of cerebral palsy, I broke down in the doctor's office and blamed myself. Did I work too much, not eat the right foods, not get enough rest, etc. The doctor had to reassure me that it was not my fault.
We got Stephon in OT and PT immediately after. We found out at age 3.5 years of age that Stephon had a hole in his heart. He had a 6 hour open heart surgery in July 2010. He suffered his first seizure 10 days before his 5th birthday. He was nonverbal until age 6. Stephon has participated in many therapies (SLP, OT, PT, aquatic therapy, and CIMT camp) to assist him in strengthening and using his left side more.
Stephon will be 14 on May 8, 2020 and continues to amaze us with his hard work, determination, strength, and beautiful personality. He does not want to be treated differently from his peers. He loves sports and participates in Special Olympics! He is such a great big brother, son, cousin, nephew, grandson, and friend. WE LOVE YOU STEPHON! YOU ARE OUR WARRIOR!!
I felt something was wrong when he started to walk and had a profound limp. I went back to my pediatrician and asked for a referral to a specialist. When I first heard that Stephon had a type of cerebral palsy, I broke down in the doctor's office and blamed myself. Did I work too much, not eat the right foods, not get enough rest, etc. The doctor had to reassure me that it was not my fault.
We got Stephon in OT and PT immediately after. We found out at age 3.5 years of age that Stephon had a hole in his heart. He had a 6 hour open heart surgery in July 2010. He suffered his first seizure 10 days before his 5th birthday. He was nonverbal until age 6. Stephon has participated in many therapies (SLP, OT, PT, aquatic therapy, and CIMT camp) to assist him in strengthening and using his left side more.
Stephon will be 14 on May 8, 2020 and continues to amaze us with his hard work, determination, strength, and beautiful personality. He does not want to be treated differently from his peers. He loves sports and participates in Special Olympics! He is such a great big brother, son, cousin, nephew, grandson, and friend. WE LOVE YOU STEPHON! YOU ARE OUR WARRIOR!!
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