Help us support our son, Dawson, with additional therapy intensives that could significantly improve his motor function. Dawson suffered a perinatal stroke causing Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is extremely dynamic. The specific type of CP Dawson has is called Spastic Hemiplegia, and for him, it affects the right side of his body. While this condition is permanent, it is not progressive, and early intervention therapy can vastly improve the quality of his life forever.

For those of you who are interested in the full story:

We were fortunate to have a smooth pregnancy and labor and delivery with Dawson. He had a perfect APGAR score and there weren’t any red flags with his development. All of his well-visits and milestones were going smoothly.

After he was a few months old, we noticed he wasn’t turning his head both ways. We thought there might be some tension or torticollis at play. Because of this behavior, we could see we were heading down the path of plagiocephaly and support from DocBand therapy should help. Dawson started DocBand treatment around 7 months old and it was one of the amazing technicians at Cranial Technologies who mentioned physical therapy a few times to us.

Those small suggestions about physical therapy helped set us on a path of discovery which could have been severely delayed had she not advocated for him.

We got him in to physical therapy in September 2025 when he was around 8-9 months old and were excited to help improve his torticollis. After a few visits, his PT mentioned that we should consider ruling out any neurological issues. At the time, it felt completely dark and heavy. Up until this point, we hadn’t noticed anything going on with Dawson other than the issues we were addressing, so the sheer thought that something could be “wrong” was terrifying and caught us completely off guard.

Next, we waited for a month in a bit of agony for our first consultation with a neurologist. This was the first time we had some of our google searches confirmed and began getting more familiar with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy. Our neurologist examined Dawson and was careful not to make any certain claims until she could see scans of his brain, which was our next venture. More agonizing waiting.. all the while, doing life as a family of 5, trying to focus on the good like making strides with a truly amazing pediatric physical therapist.

In December 2025, Dawson had his first sedated MRI at UNC Children’s. It went smoothly despite being a little nerve-wracking for us parents. This time, we didn’t have to wait long. Our neurology office called us before we even left the hospital that day to schedule a time to discuss the scans. They mentioned things looking like what we had discussed previously, which was Spastic Hemiplegia. This was a softer way to receive the news, which was ultimately confirmed in black & white detail at our follow-up appointment. Due to some healed bleeding areas on Dawson’s scan, his neurologist wanted to do another scan and bloodwork to make sure there weren’t any disorders or anything that might cause an issue or increase of another stroke in the future. This was called an MRA and we went back to UNC for that in the beginning of January. All came back clear.

Right before Dawson’s MRA, he started occupational therapy (in addition to physical therapy) with someone who also has Hemiplegia (providence, God-wink, serendipity!!!). Despite a small presence of grief, this is when things start turning around. Over the last few months, we’ve been consistent with therapy and even had the fortune of completing a physical therapy intensive locally at a renowned DMI (Dynamic Movement Intervention) clinic, resulting in a boost of development for Dawson.

Thanks to these dedicated providers, the therapy they provide, and neuroplasticity of the brain, Dawson has made inspiring improvements each month. They might be small, but they are HUGE for us— and him! The best thing we can do for him is continue to push him to use the right side of his body so he can crawl, walk, and gain as much function of that side as possible. We have another DMI intensive planned this summer and after that (our reason for fundraising) is for Dawson to complete a 4 week Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) intensive with the Neuromotor Research Clinic, part of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech. In addition to the therapy itself, funds are needed to pay for accommodations for a full month in the Roanoke area, where therapy will be administered. Dawson would be casted on his left arm and have occupational therapy 5 days a week for a minimum of 3 hours. The therapy is an out of pocket cost, billed by the hour each week ($225/hr). In the hopes that insurance could reimburse us for any part of the therapy, we would use any remaining donation funds towards the next intensive, other therapies, orthotics, and other needs directly related to supporting Dawson’s progression.

Dawson is the sweetest, snuggliest, smiliest baby. Ask anyone who’s met him! He will do wonderful things in life, and your contribution will be part of his story.

Thank you for taking the time to read and support!