Meet Emery!

Emery is a sweet and extremely happy three-year-old little girl. She loves bubbles, car rides, reading books, splashing water out of the bathtub, laughing at her homestead animals, feeding the dog, interacting with her friends at gym class, anything that involves swinging or bouncing, meeting new people (especially at the grocery store), snuggles with her mama, and dancing with her dada! Emery spends most of her time playing at home, doing preschool, going to her twice weekly speech and occupational therapy sessions, and getting together with friends for playdates.

Emery struggles with hypotonic cerebral palsy due to a brain structure abnormality. With her cerebral palsy come many severe developmental delays. There are a lot of things she still cannot physically do at age three that we are hopeful she will be able to accomplish in her own time with continued early intervention and therapies.

Emery works hard in all of her therapies to do simple gross motor tasks that are still a challenge for her in everyday life. Some examples include transitioning from laying down to sitting up, crawling, kneeling, pulling to stand, and walking. She may not be able to do these things on her own just yet but ask anyone who has ever had the opportunity to meet her, and they will tell you that she is capable! And, as her parents, Eddy and I are here to support her and cheer her on in everything she sets out to accomplish!

Raising Funds For Therapy!

We recently found out that Emery has been accepted into the exclusive NAPA Center Boston’s Intensive Therapy Program. Emery is currently on the waitlist for 2023 and could be called in for an open spot anywhere from 2 months to 2 days in advance. This therapy program typically books out a year in advance, so Emery is very fortunate to have the opportunity to be called upon should another family have to cancel for whatever reason(s).

With that being said, the therapists at NAPA Center Boston have recommended a program tailored specifically for Emery to work on her gross motor skills. This looks like 4 hours a day, 5 days a week for 3 weeks, including 2 hours in their Neurosuit (PT & OT hours), 1 hour of DMI, and 1 hour of Speech Therapy. Unfortunately, NAPA Center Boston does not work with our insurance, so we will be 100% self-pay.

The average cost for this program is $560 per day x 15 days + additional costs for evaluations and plan of care = ~$9,000.00. On top of the therapy expenses, I am estimating that travel & lodging in Boston will bring our total cost up closer to ~$12,000.00.

As you can imagine, we want to be ready to dash away to Boston as soon as Emery gets that call saying “We are ready for you, Emery!”, and that’s why we are calling on you to help make sure that we don’t have to turn away an incredible opportunity because of financial burdens.

Our overall goal during this campaign is to raise $12,000 in 12 weeks. All funds will be put directly toward the cost of therapy services, travel, and lodging. Should we have anything left over, the remaining funds will be put toward future medical expenses for Emery.

Emery’s Goals!

As Emery’s parents, we are hopeful that by receiving this intensive therapy treatment at NAPA Center Boston, Emery will gain independence and freedom in her movements. That could look like Emery being able to get into a sitting position on her own, crawling or cruising to get to the toy she wants, pulling to stand so she can reach her sippy cup on the coffee table, and having confidence in each step she takes when she eventually transitions from her gait trainer to a walker. NAPA has a goal for all of their patients and that’s helping each child reach their next developmental milestone by the end of their 3 weeks there. That translates to me, her mother, as endless possibilities for Emery and what she can accomplish during her time at NAPA!

*These donations are NOT tax-deductible as they are given to an individual as a gift to cover medical expenses.

Additional information:

Get your new t-shirt HERE

Donations will also be accepted via Venmo. Find me @rootinforemery!

Find us on YOUTUBE and INSTAGRAM and follow along with Emery's day-to-day!