For those of you who don’t know, these past 2 years with Kayden have been kind of a rollercoaster. Around 8 months he got the diagnosis of Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy. He was also diagnosed with Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) which is a condition where his brain isn’t processing what he sees. This condition is improving and we know he can see. We just aren’t sure to what extent. Right now we are mainly focused on his Cerebral Palsy. If you don’t know, this is a muscle disorder that causes muscle stiffness or “spasticity”. This specific type of CP only affects Kayden’s lower extremities.

Right now the muscles in his legs are so tight and stiff which causes delays in gross motor skills. His brain is constantly firing signals to his legs to work, so trying to learn new skills is hard for him. Kayden has been doing Physical and Occupational therapy multiple times a week the past 2 years which has been so helpful. He just recently started crawling but is not walking yet. Last summer we came across this surgery called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR).

After doing some research we discovered this surgery is designed for kids with cerebral palsy and is known to work best with the specific type Kayden has. This surgery consists of making a small incision into the spine, and from there the sensory nerves causing his muscle stiffness are cut. Doing this will give Kayden the chance to walk, talk and will allow him to live a better quality of life.

I submitted Kayden’s evaluation paperwork back in December because he had to be at least 2. I finally got the call a few weeks back that he was approved for surgery. We were thrilled to hear this. I got another call last week saying they don’t accept his state insurance. The surgery is done in St Louis Missouri at the Children’s hospital so being our insurance is through the state of Kansas they wont take it. If you have any recommendations or people I can reach out to for fundraisers please let me know! Below we have a go fund me set up if you are wanting to donate! All donations and prayers are greatly appreciated!