Interviewee: Mom, Lourdes

Could you tell me your name, daughters name, age and diagnosis?

L- Hi, my name is Lourdes, my daughter's name is Sofia. She is 6 and a half years old and she was diagnosed when she was born with bleeding in her brain which is basically a stroke that she had when I was still pregnant.  Due to the stroke she developed hydrocephalus and also some damage in the brain which caused cerebral palsy.

Could you describe what things were like when you first started working with Breakthrough PT? Things that you were concerned about, or that you wanted her to work on?

L- When I contacted Christine I was already planning on Sofia having a procedure on her left leg, which was to help to eliminate the spasticity on her left extremity. I knew that after the procedure we would have to have more defined or intensive therapy to help her get back to her base-line basically, and then improve and try to get her muscles strong after the surgery.

What kind of improvements have you seen in your daughters life, that you’ve been able to see or feel that are a result of working with us?

L- She definitely has passed her base-line from before surgery. Once you lose the spasticity, you have to learn to reuse your muscles, because it’s totally different before surgery. So she has defiantly gained strength in her legs, in her ankles, she can move her toes up very slightly she’s ambulating at school better and also improving going up and down the stairs.

What do you love most about visiting our office and working with Breakthrough?

L- Well we love Christine.  I met Christine when Sofia was 2 and half years old at a different center.  Christine was just very very good with children and she has a great… I don’t know.  It’s just so friendly that Sofia doesn’t feel as if she’s doing therapy, she’s just having fun.  Just coming to see friends and family you know?  It’s fun.

How has working with Breakthrough helped you feel about your daughters confidence and mobility?

L- It makes me feel like there is much more for her.  A lot more that she can achieve compared to sometimes years ago I remember when some therapies would say “she has c.p. that’s the way it is”, and I wasn’t happy with that answer. I knew she will be able to do much more than what she was doing.  So there are always possibilities, there is always hope for improvement.

What would you want other people to know about working with us?

L- I want them to know that you should definitely, definitely stop by and have an evaluation because it is so worth it.  I am so thankful that I was recommended to this type of therapy and met Christine because literally she has been through the biggest steps in Sofia’s life.  Which was walking for the first time, and standing up from the floor for the first time when she was almost 3 years old so it is so worth it.

If someone was on the fence about working with us what would make them feel more confident about giving us a try?

L- That there is nothing to regret, nothing to lose. It is always great to try different things.  There is nothing to lose, only something good could come out of it.

Is there anything else you want to add or want people to know?

L- We love the family here at Breakthrough. We love Christine, we love Michelle, she's great with responding with everything and Chance is just such a great little dog…or big dog.  So it’s just a great environment to be around.