Team Victoria - CP Treatments

I would like to introduce you to my awesome niece, Victoria. She is fifteen years old and was diagnosed with autism at 19 months. She first started her therapies and treatments at age 3.  She has experienced delays in walking, speaking and other activities that most children take for granted.  However, Victoria is a happy soul that loves to sing and is active in Special Olympics.

Victoria has always been a toe walker despite years of Physical Therapy. Recently she has been having trouble walking, and frequently falls when unassisted.  To determine the cause of these increasing difficulties, her mother took her for additional diagnosis.  She was recently referred to a wonderful doctor in Kansas City, Dr. Ganesh Gupta, that added a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy Spastic Diplegia. It explains a lot about her issues with speech, walking and fine motor skills. 

He has recommended several treatments of Botox and then possibly a heel cord extension. We know several families that have shown remarkable improvement using this doctor and we want Victoria to have the same opportunity for success. These treatments should allow her to walk on her feet flat so she does not fall as much, increase her ankle stability, and reduce the likelihood that she will become wheelchair dependent later in life. They will also allow her to improve her mobility for job options as well as her favorite extracurricular activity the back stroke as part of the Special Olympics. She cannot currently get her arms completely out of the water. Dr. Gupta also believes that the cerebral palsy contributes to her speech issues that she only speaks in two-to-three-word sentences. He believes that Botox treatments will help all these issues. 

Unfortunately, the doctor is out of her health insurance network. Her mom, Trish, is trying to work with the insurance company to cover it and appeal their decisions, but it takes time. She is scheduled for her first treatment in July. This will be a great time for her to begin these procedures since her mom is a teacher and is able to be off in the summer to take care of her and see how the Botox affects her. It does not look like insurance is going to cover the initial visit, so my sister is trying to pay for this out of pocket. It will be approximately $6,000. She has some of the money in savings but not nearly enough to cover this amount. There are doctors in her network that will administer the Botox, but they do not use sedation and with her age, size and autism this would put her at risk for dangerous complications.   

Please consider donating to help Victoria receive this treatment and with additional medical costs that come with her new diagnosis.