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Taegan Sage is a spunky 12 year old girl who faces numerous challenges in her daily life. Taegan has had quite a journey, so far, beginning with her premature birth and month long NICU stay in 2004 and through present day. She has been a relentless fighter, overcoming numerous hurdles including several surgeries and multiple physical set-backs along the way.
Taegan has several debilitating conditions including: cerebral palsy, spastic diplegia, periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), duplication of 8p23.3, and autism. She attends various therapies weekly, including occupational, physical, speech, ABA, craniosacral, and music therapy.
In June of 2015, Taegan underwent a tendon lengthening surgey on her left leg which provided very little improvement. Her muscle tone is very tight and restricting her ankle movement, which is causing her to be unsafe with walking.
In October 2016, her doctor informed us that the only option left for Taegan would be to try more surgery. However, since she is not done growing in height yet, the surgery most likely would have to be redone in the future. There are no guarantees that the surgery would even work. Her doctor is reluctant to proceed with surgery due to these factors. However, if we do nothing, Taegan will most likely develop an ankle contracture. That is where her ankle joint will become frozen in one position and remain like that forever. This would be detrimental for Taegan. Her ankle would no longer be able to bend. She most likely would become wheelchair bound.
There is another option that could prevent a contracture from happening. It is called hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT). Taegan actually had 120 hours of hyperbaric oxygen treatments done in 2007 which provided amazing results! After the treatments, Taegan no longer required the use of a RIGHT leg brace to walk. The treatments healed the damage to the part of her brain that controlled muscle tone in her right lower extremity! Her family has always hoped to be able to provide her with more HBOT, but it is quite expensive (approximately $5,500 for 40 hours of HBOT at The Cole Center For Healing in Cincinnati, OH.)
Taegan's family lives paycheck to paycheck. Her father has worked two jobs since her birth so that Taegan's mother can tend to her daily needs as well as take her to various weekly therapies and specialist appointments.
Please help make a difference in the life of this little girl! It would be devastating to her and her family if she were to lose the ability to walk because of an ankle contracture that could have been prevented!
We are hoping to raise $5,500 by the end of December so that Taegan can receive the critical treatment of life-altering hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments!
Thank you and much love to all of Taegan's angels here on earth who donate to her important cause!
Link to Taegan's website:www.angels4taegan.com
HBOT explained at this link here, where Taegan has undergone HBOT: https://vimeo.com/118588378
Taegan's left ankle - her physical therapist stretching it as far as it will go, which is about 3 degrees. (Normal range for ankle dorsiflexion (movement upward) is 15-20 degrees.)
Here is a video of Taegan working on balance in physical therapy this fall.
Here is a clip of Taegan walking on 11-19-16. You can see how the muscle tightness in her left foot makes it impossible for her foot to be flat on the floor.
Taegan has several debilitating conditions including: cerebral palsy, spastic diplegia, periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), duplication of 8p23.3, and autism. She attends various therapies weekly, including occupational, physical, speech, ABA, craniosacral, and music therapy.
In June of 2015, Taegan underwent a tendon lengthening surgey on her left leg which provided very little improvement. Her muscle tone is very tight and restricting her ankle movement, which is causing her to be unsafe with walking.
In October 2016, her doctor informed us that the only option left for Taegan would be to try more surgery. However, since she is not done growing in height yet, the surgery most likely would have to be redone in the future. There are no guarantees that the surgery would even work. Her doctor is reluctant to proceed with surgery due to these factors. However, if we do nothing, Taegan will most likely develop an ankle contracture. That is where her ankle joint will become frozen in one position and remain like that forever. This would be detrimental for Taegan. Her ankle would no longer be able to bend. She most likely would become wheelchair bound.
There is another option that could prevent a contracture from happening. It is called hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT). Taegan actually had 120 hours of hyperbaric oxygen treatments done in 2007 which provided amazing results! After the treatments, Taegan no longer required the use of a RIGHT leg brace to walk. The treatments healed the damage to the part of her brain that controlled muscle tone in her right lower extremity! Her family has always hoped to be able to provide her with more HBOT, but it is quite expensive (approximately $5,500 for 40 hours of HBOT at The Cole Center For Healing in Cincinnati, OH.)
Taegan's family lives paycheck to paycheck. Her father has worked two jobs since her birth so that Taegan's mother can tend to her daily needs as well as take her to various weekly therapies and specialist appointments.
Please help make a difference in the life of this little girl! It would be devastating to her and her family if she were to lose the ability to walk because of an ankle contracture that could have been prevented!
We are hoping to raise $5,500 by the end of December so that Taegan can receive the critical treatment of life-altering hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments!
Thank you and much love to all of Taegan's angels here on earth who donate to her important cause!
Link to Taegan's website:www.angels4taegan.com
HBOT explained at this link here, where Taegan has undergone HBOT: https://vimeo.com/118588378
Taegan's left ankle - her physical therapist stretching it as far as it will go, which is about 3 degrees. (Normal range for ankle dorsiflexion (movement upward) is 15-20 degrees.)
Here is a video of Taegan working on balance in physical therapy this fall.
Here is a clip of Taegan walking on 11-19-16. You can see how the muscle tightness in her left foot makes it impossible for her foot to be flat on the floor.