Brooklyn's Life Changing Surgery
Donation protected
Meet Brooklyn!
She is a vibrant, beautiful, 3 year old girl who loves to play anything with her 2 older brothers Ty(13) and Blake(11). Brooklyn is fearless with attempts to try anything on her own. She loves to play all sports including hockey, basketball, football, baseball, lacrosse, and swimming. Brooklyn is very determined to walk one day, trying almost every day to do it without any assistance. Brooklyn lights up every room she enters, with her contagious smile and happy carefree attitude.
Brooklyn was also born with Cerebral Palsy: damage to the brain sometimes caused by lack of oxygen before or at birth which impacts muscle tone and impairs muscle coordination in her hips, legs and ankles. Brooklyn’s form of Cerebral Palsy is called Spastic Diplegia, and is something she’ll live with her entire life. Brooklyn relies on a walker (but just loves her shopping cart) to get around. Brooklyn loves her therapy at Grandview Kids. She has worked so hard to get to where she is already (and only 3).
Recently through other children’s fundraisers and social media, we found out there is a way to help Brooklyn walk independently and substantially improve her quality of life. Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) surgery will allow Brooklyn to achieve any of her hopes and dreams in her lifetime.
Why We Need Your Help
Brooklyn is an excellent candidate for Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) surgery and has completed all the necessary requirements requested by Dr. T.S. Park at St. Louis Children’s hospital.
If given this surgery, Brooklyn will have: better balance, transitions will be easier and faster, her spasticity will be permanently reduced, her level of comfort will improve, her sitting and standing postures will also improve.
This is such exciting and inspiring news! We’re very excited about Brooklyn’s future. She is very active, has an extremely positive attitude, and is determined to be independent. BUT, we’re facing one barrier: OHIP won’t pay for the surgery because no doctor in the province will sign a consent form to approve it. That’s where you come in.
What We Need
Total costs are over $140,000. We’re trying to raise funds to help pay for: the surgery, equipment for the home, physiotherapy both before and
after the surgery, accommodation in St. Louis, travel costs and other costs associated with Brooklyn’s dream.
More About SDR Surgery
SDR (Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy) surgery was pioneered by Dr. Park at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital and he’s the world leader in performing this procedure. It involves surgically entering the spine to remove a portion of one vertebrae and stimulating the nerves to determine which are causing the muscle tightness associated with Cerebral Palsy and cutting those nerves. The tightness is what can deform the bones as the child grows and this surgery will hopefully ensure that Brooklyn avoids other painful and invasive surgeries down the road, along with giving her more independent movement.
For more information about St. Louis Children’s Hospital and SDR surgery, please check out the following link:
http://www.stlouischildrens.org/sites/default/files/services/cerebral_spasticity/files/SDRbrochure_final.pdf
She is a vibrant, beautiful, 3 year old girl who loves to play anything with her 2 older brothers Ty(13) and Blake(11). Brooklyn is fearless with attempts to try anything on her own. She loves to play all sports including hockey, basketball, football, baseball, lacrosse, and swimming. Brooklyn is very determined to walk one day, trying almost every day to do it without any assistance. Brooklyn lights up every room she enters, with her contagious smile and happy carefree attitude.
Brooklyn was also born with Cerebral Palsy: damage to the brain sometimes caused by lack of oxygen before or at birth which impacts muscle tone and impairs muscle coordination in her hips, legs and ankles. Brooklyn’s form of Cerebral Palsy is called Spastic Diplegia, and is something she’ll live with her entire life. Brooklyn relies on a walker (but just loves her shopping cart) to get around. Brooklyn loves her therapy at Grandview Kids. She has worked so hard to get to where she is already (and only 3).
Recently through other children’s fundraisers and social media, we found out there is a way to help Brooklyn walk independently and substantially improve her quality of life. Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) surgery will allow Brooklyn to achieve any of her hopes and dreams in her lifetime.
Why We Need Your Help
Brooklyn is an excellent candidate for Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) surgery and has completed all the necessary requirements requested by Dr. T.S. Park at St. Louis Children’s hospital.
If given this surgery, Brooklyn will have: better balance, transitions will be easier and faster, her spasticity will be permanently reduced, her level of comfort will improve, her sitting and standing postures will also improve.
This is such exciting and inspiring news! We’re very excited about Brooklyn’s future. She is very active, has an extremely positive attitude, and is determined to be independent. BUT, we’re facing one barrier: OHIP won’t pay for the surgery because no doctor in the province will sign a consent form to approve it. That’s where you come in.
What We Need
Total costs are over $140,000. We’re trying to raise funds to help pay for: the surgery, equipment for the home, physiotherapy both before and
after the surgery, accommodation in St. Louis, travel costs and other costs associated with Brooklyn’s dream.
More About SDR Surgery
SDR (Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy) surgery was pioneered by Dr. Park at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital and he’s the world leader in performing this procedure. It involves surgically entering the spine to remove a portion of one vertebrae and stimulating the nerves to determine which are causing the muscle tightness associated with Cerebral Palsy and cutting those nerves. The tightness is what can deform the bones as the child grows and this surgery will hopefully ensure that Brooklyn avoids other painful and invasive surgeries down the road, along with giving her more independent movement.
For more information about St. Louis Children’s Hospital and SDR surgery, please check out the following link:
http://www.stlouischildrens.org/sites/default/files/services/cerebral_spasticity/files/SDRbrochure_final.pdf
Organizer
James Hattie
Organizer
Whitby, ON
