Theo's Story: On Janurary 19, 2015, my sister Brooke and her husband Joe welcomed a 2nd healthy & beautiful boy, Theo, into the world. Aside from colic and slightly low neck tone, there were no indications in his first three months that anything was wrong. Nearing his 4th month, Brooke began to notice some signs of right side neglect in little Theo—his left hand was starting to grab for toys, while he rarely engaged his right hand. Over the next two months, Brooke and Joe sought advice from family and friends, begged for early intervention from medical practitioners, and finally at Theo's 6 month visit, Brooke demanded an MRI. Theo continued to show slow development, particularly on the one side, and at this point we were all starting to notice certain milestones were not being hit. Theo also seemed to be a little disconnected, barely noticing activity unless it was right in front of him. From 6 to 10 months old, Theo received traditional therapy with very little change, his developmental progress achingly slow. He was an amazingly happy, beautiful boy trapped in a delayed body.

At 10 months Theo finally had his MRI. When we received the news that Theo had survived a stroke while still in utero, many emotions flooded our minds. Disbelief, fear, and concern for the many unknowns; frustration and grief for such a little guy who didn’t seem to get a fair chance coming into the world. Many "what if" scenarios ran through Brooke and Joe’s minds as they faced the daunting new reality of their lives. After much prayer and discussion, they decided to side with hope.

At this turning point, Theo started getting lessons from practitioners trained in the Anat Baniel Method (ABM). ABM uses innovative Neuromovement exercises to create new neural patterns to increase strength, flexibility, and awareness.
After his very first lesson, Theo started babbling more, became much more aware of his surroundings, and grabbed his feet in his car seat for the very first time. Over the next few months, Theo learned to army crawl, sit up, and pull to stand, and Brooke and Joe knew they had found something that was connecting with Theo. They decided to arrange ABM intensives every 4-6 weeks for the following year. Unfortunately, this meant that Brooke and Theo would often have to travel out of province for a week at a time to receive lessons.

For Theo’s 2nd birthday this coming January, the family plans to go to the ABM center in San Rafael, CA for the first time. They are very excited to see what Theo learns from the very top ABM practitioner and her team. This trip, like the others, is not covered by medical insurance so will cost the family roughly $10,000.

I created this page so that my nephew has the opportunity to reach his fullest potential. Theo has been such an amazing warrior the past 22 months, cheerfully struggling to overcome the effects of his stroke. All money raised will go directly to support Theo’s journey towards healing.

More info on ABM: www.anatbanielmethod.com