Thomas
9/24/04 - For Thomas PLB released
9/24/04 - $100 in donations collected - to date
10/6/04 - $306 in donations collected - to date
11/12/04 - $366 in donations collected - to date
Thomas was born in June 2002.  He has 3 older siblings - Kelly & David (Sept 1994) and Michael (Nov 1998).  During Thomas' first 6 months of life, his family kept getting news about problems Thomas was having.  He had cataracts, his toungue was tied, his circulation was very poor, etc.  When Thomas was 6 months old, he was diagnosed with  schizencephaly.  Schizencephaly is an extremely rate developmental disorder characterized by abnormal slits, or clefts, in the brain's cerebral hemispheres.  This disorder ranges in severity.  Thomas is on the more severe side.  At age 2 Thomas is still similar to an infant.  He has partial paralysis and reduced muscle tone.  Thomas wears contacts, but is considered blind.  They believe he can see some bright colors.  Thomas also lives with daily seizures.  Even with all that Thomas has going against him, he is the happiest child I have ever seen!  Thomas knows his mommy's voice, and just the sound of it brings happiness to his face and laughter.  My daughter, Maggie, who is 15 months older than Thomas, loves to go over and see him.  She will sit and talk to him and hold his hand.  When she does this, he laughs and smiles.  Even though he can't tell you when he is thinking, just to listen to him and watch his face shows you how much happiness this child has. 

Treatment for individuals with schizencephaly generally consists of physical therapy and treatment for seizures. We are lucky enough to live very close to The Pegasus Program.  Thomas was able to have a few hippotherapy sessions at Pegasus before the families insurance decided not to cover the sessions.  Each session at Pegasus runs 30 - 60 minutes at $28.75 per 15 miuntes.  With a family of 6 where dad is the sole income provider, this therepy is more than the family can afford.

Hippotherapy is a medical treatment requiring a doctor's prescription.  Therapy is given by a licensed physical therapist.  Theraputic riding is a leisure activity that teaches a person with a disability how to ride a horse.  It has shown to improve muscle tone, balance, posture, coordination, muscle tone, motor development as well as emotional well being.

Even though Thomas is young, he was able to get a lot out of his sessions.  Being up on the horse not only brought him happiness, but it helped to strengthen the muscles that help with is posture.
I am hoping to raise money to help Thomas get back to Pegasus and his hippotherapy.  Each 15 minutes of therapy costs $28.75.  Thomas' therapy sessions currently last for 30 minutes.  Since the families insurance does not cover hippotherapy, Thomas will not be able to continue his therapy without the help of others. 

If you would like to donate money to Thomas to help keep him in the saddle, you can send paypal payments to [email protected].  Or, if you prefer to send cash or a check, please contact me for more information on how to do so.
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Last updated: 11/12/04
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