Help Kaiden Get To NAPA Intensive Therapy

Hi my name is Kaiden and I am 2 and a half years old.  I had a rough start to life, I was born 3 months early and had a very traumatic birth.  I was without oxygen to my brain for 4 to 5 minutes which lead to severe stage 3 and 4 brain bleeds and hydrocephalus.  I had a VP shunt placed to drain the fluid off my brain into my abdomen.  I spent the first 3 months of my life alone in the NICU, until my foster parents brought me home. 

I've undergone several surgeries due to my shunt malfunctioning. My foster parents got me into early therapy starting at 3 months of age for developmental delays. When I was 7 months old I was diagnosed with Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy that was caused by the trauma I endured at birth.  . At that point the doctors and therapists had said that it was too soon to tell at the time, but most likely I would never be able to crawl like a regular child,  let alone walk. 

I have attended weekly occupational, speech, and physical therapy at our local hospital.  I have made tremendous strides in my development and have surpassed any and all expectations my doctors had at the time of my diagnosis, and continue to surprise them to this day, but I still have a long way to go.

Through all of this, my foster family fell in love with me and gave me my "forever family" by adopting me and making me officially a part of their family! That is probably the best gift anyone can receive. The next best gift I could get would be the ability to walk, and run, and play with my siblings. This one I am working on, but need your help!

I am currently at the end of an intensive therapy session, that because of my determination, drive, and will power, my Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Doctor,  said I would be a great candidate for.  This intensive consisted of 4- 3 hour days per week for 4 weeks. The gains I have made from this have been life changing for me. I am now able to sit up properly on my bottom, rather than only on my knees like before this therapy. I have also gained the ability to start to "side-step" while holding onto a bench as well as started to take steps walking with the assistance of a gait trainer.

My parents have always been on the hunt to find therapies and specialists to help facilitate this goal of walking and achieve my fullest potential given my diagnosis. During this search, they came across the NAPA Center, where they offer State of the Art and Best in the World therapies to children all across the globe with neurological and developmental conditions such as mine. My parents applied and I was accepted into a 3 week intensive therapy session, consisting of 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, starting June 7 of 2021.

This particular intensive therapy could be life changing for me. Children make more progress in 3 weeks of intensive therapy than they would in 1 year of traditional therapy.  Some of the techniques offered at NAPA that I don't have access to near me are the Cuevas Medek Exercise technique, Neurosuit, and Trexo Robotics Gait Trainer

Unfortunately, insurance does not cover these therapies, which makes the total bill an out of pocket expense.  The cost of the program is 7,500, the cheapest lodging accomodations for 3 weeks was 2,950, and airfare from Michigan to LA is 1,000.  It is optimal to attend 2 to 3 intensives per year.

Please consider making a monetary donation to help me get to NAPA in June 2021!  We would be forever grateful for this opportunity.  Please share my fundraiser with your friends and family 

Thank you so much for reading my story.

Love,
Kaiden and family