One. Two. Three, whee!
- Ava is a lot of fun and she is kind of a go-getter kind of kid. She is, I would describe her as a bit of a pistol actually, because she decides what she wants and she tries really hard to get it. I think she's a determined kid. She really loves swimming. I think there's something therapeutic about being in the water, and just how it feels and supports her body. I feel really proud as a parent when I see my daughter participating in adaptive sports and rec and just regular things in the community because she's overcome so much in her short life.
- [Ava] This is me when I was three months old and my first smile.
- Ava was born on November 12th. And she was supposed to be born the following February. So she was very, very small. Ava just wasn't reaching her milestones, like rolling over, sitting, crawling, and so I talked to the pediatrician and he suggested that we see somebody at Gillette.
- It was pretty apparent very early on with Ava that she was a ball of energy and a really bright light. Ava was having problems with her cerebral palsy so she was needing walker, crutches, braces, to help her with walking.
- When I was three, I was teetering and tottering on my feet and having my arms up like this for balance.
- [Sarah] The first gait analysis was really crazy because we are in this big room with all these Hollywood movie cameras around. And then they actually take a child's movement and animate it.
- In the gait analysis laboratory, we have a lot of different pieces of technology. But the single piece of most important technology is the ability to measure movement. The way we measure movement is to apply some markers to the body that are reflective and then you walk through the gait lab. The camera system can see where those markers are in space.
- [Sarah] It's really amazing how they can just reduce the kid to this very scientific movement.
- We used it when we first met Ava to try to help us make this decision about how we could help her the best. The main thing that we saw with the first gait analysis was the spasticity. With that, too many muscles are firing at one time, so there's a lot of stiffness.
- It really gave me an understanding of, "Wow, when Ava is walking, it's like she's walking through water all the time."
- [Tom] Since 1987, we've been testing hundreds of children each year. And we've been keeping all of that data in a database. So we not only use the gait lab to help us make decisions, but we can assess individual outcomes. We make all these decisions early on in their lifetime but the real question then is, does it really accomplish those longer-term goals?
- [Sarah] The results of the rhizotomy have been pretty great. I'm looking at this girl, who came into Gillette really having a tough time walking. And now she just, she goes wherever she wants to go. She loves adaptive rock climbing. This year she took adaptive downhill ski for the first time. If she hadn't had those interventions at Gillette, I think she would've definitely needed to be in a wheelchair.
- From the standpoint of how we take care of children with cerebral palsy, they struggle with their mobility, and we want to be able to help them be as mobile as possible so that as they get into adulthood, they can be as successful as possible.
- [Sarah] I feel proud and excited for her future. Now, I know, with a little support here and there, she can do whatever she wants to do.