Jona's Therapy Trip 2017
Donation protected
Hello friends and family!
As most of you know, my amazing daughter Jona Lee has Cerebral Palsy and Microcephaly. For unknown reasons, she experienced a lack of oxygen either in the womb or during labor, and suffered global brain damage. This means that Jona learns differently and at a slower rate than typically developing children. She is 2.5 years old now and we are currently working on her ability to sit on her own, reach and grab objects, bare weight into her arms, etc. She still eats pureed foods, and communicates verbally through grunts but is getting closer to using words and being able to chew! She is a resilient little firecracker and we are constantly amazed at her determined spirit and sunny disposition.
We were so blessed to discover a physical therapy method in the fall of 2015 that clicks with her body and brain. Every child learns differently, and from what we’ve seen, the Anat Baniel Method resonates with Jona in a way that nothing else does. Currently, Jona has ABM lessons with a Practitioner three days a week in Anchorage. We absolutely love her and she has helped Jona in so many ways. However, it is ideal to see other ABM Practitioners whenever possible. This requires traveling to other states, as our Practitioner in Anchorage (Julie) is the only one in Alaska.
Some of you may remember that we launched a Gofundme in October of 2015 to raise money for a therapy trip to Portland for Jona. It was wildly successful and we surpassed our goal amount within a week! The love and support that flooded in was overwhelming and appreciated more than we could express. Due to your loving support, Ryan and I were able to take Jona to Portland for a five day trip in which she had therapy sessions twice a day with two different highly experienced ABM Practitioners. The extra money earned was used to provide Jona with Chiropractic care as well. During that trip, she splashed in the bathtub with her hand for the first time! She was also able to learn how to roll over efficiently and gained countless neurological connections. She was more communicative, confident, and self-aware after that experience. We came back even more amped about ABM, determined to take her on more trips!
In August of 2016, I was able to take Jona to California for a four day intensive with an ABM Master Practitioner, Sylvia. She had three lessons a day and it was incredible! Jona loved Sylvia and worked SO hard. By the end of that trip she was pushing up with her arms and gained more mobility in her hands.
So far in 2017, Jona has had numerous mini-breakthroughs while working with Julie here in Alaska. She’s definitely ready for another trip and we are so excited at the notion of taking her back to California to work with Sylvia!! I am launching this Gofundme in the hopes of accomplishing this for our girl!
We expect this trip to cost about $3,000. This includes flights in and out of Santa Rosa CA for Jona and myself, a rental car, accomdations, and the lessons with Sylvia (we are not able to bill insurance for these). We hope to schedule this trip for early-mid summer.
We will be so grateful if you would consider donating to this trip! We appreciate ANY type of support that we receive. If you are interested in donating directly and not through the Gofundme platform, please contact me! We are surrounded by a community of people that continuously love and cheer Jona on and it means the world to us. Thank you all!!!
As most of you know, my amazing daughter Jona Lee has Cerebral Palsy and Microcephaly. For unknown reasons, she experienced a lack of oxygen either in the womb or during labor, and suffered global brain damage. This means that Jona learns differently and at a slower rate than typically developing children. She is 2.5 years old now and we are currently working on her ability to sit on her own, reach and grab objects, bare weight into her arms, etc. She still eats pureed foods, and communicates verbally through grunts but is getting closer to using words and being able to chew! She is a resilient little firecracker and we are constantly amazed at her determined spirit and sunny disposition.
We were so blessed to discover a physical therapy method in the fall of 2015 that clicks with her body and brain. Every child learns differently, and from what we’ve seen, the Anat Baniel Method resonates with Jona in a way that nothing else does. Currently, Jona has ABM lessons with a Practitioner three days a week in Anchorage. We absolutely love her and she has helped Jona in so many ways. However, it is ideal to see other ABM Practitioners whenever possible. This requires traveling to other states, as our Practitioner in Anchorage (Julie) is the only one in Alaska.
Some of you may remember that we launched a Gofundme in October of 2015 to raise money for a therapy trip to Portland for Jona. It was wildly successful and we surpassed our goal amount within a week! The love and support that flooded in was overwhelming and appreciated more than we could express. Due to your loving support, Ryan and I were able to take Jona to Portland for a five day trip in which she had therapy sessions twice a day with two different highly experienced ABM Practitioners. The extra money earned was used to provide Jona with Chiropractic care as well. During that trip, she splashed in the bathtub with her hand for the first time! She was also able to learn how to roll over efficiently and gained countless neurological connections. She was more communicative, confident, and self-aware after that experience. We came back even more amped about ABM, determined to take her on more trips!
In August of 2016, I was able to take Jona to California for a four day intensive with an ABM Master Practitioner, Sylvia. She had three lessons a day and it was incredible! Jona loved Sylvia and worked SO hard. By the end of that trip she was pushing up with her arms and gained more mobility in her hands.
So far in 2017, Jona has had numerous mini-breakthroughs while working with Julie here in Alaska. She’s definitely ready for another trip and we are so excited at the notion of taking her back to California to work with Sylvia!! I am launching this Gofundme in the hopes of accomplishing this for our girl!
We expect this trip to cost about $3,000. This includes flights in and out of Santa Rosa CA for Jona and myself, a rental car, accomdations, and the lessons with Sylvia (we are not able to bill insurance for these). We hope to schedule this trip for early-mid summer.
We will be so grateful if you would consider donating to this trip! We appreciate ANY type of support that we receive. If you are interested in donating directly and not through the Gofundme platform, please contact me! We are surrounded by a community of people that continuously love and cheer Jona on and it means the world to us. Thank you all!!!
Organizer
Jessica Grant
Organizer
Anchorage, AK
