Nathan was born May 7, 2004.  We started to realize that something might be wrong within a few months of birth.  We had friends with a little boy just six weeks younger then Nathan, and it was clear that Nathan was progressing much slower than their little guy.  By his six-month check-up, he could not yet roll over, sit up, hold a toy, or really do anything requiring motor skills.  We talked about it at the appointment, but our doctor told us that babies progress at different rates and we shouldn’t be worried.

By his nine-month appointment, Nathan had still made no progress.  His doctor again told us not to worry, but of course we were worried!  We were still clinging to the hope that the doctor was right though. 

At his 12-month appointment, our doctor again told me not to worry and said to give it another three months!  I did not say a word, just left the clinic with the resolve that we would NEVER be going back to that doctor!  We found a new doctor right away, and within five minutes of meeting Nathan she referred him to Neurology at Children’s Hospital.

Nathan has had lots of tests, but the doctors have been unable to confirm an exact diagnosis.  He has ataxia, which is low muscle tone, and intention tremors, which means that he has tremors in his limbs that get worse when he reaches for things.  He cannot talk yet, but we think he understands most, if not all, that we say to him.  He makes lots of sounds and we have learned which sounds mean he is happy, sad, mad, frustrated, etc. 

He can now roll over, sit up, crawl, high kneel, feed himself finger food, and play with lots of toys.  He does have a wheelchair which he is learning to steer.  Our next big goal is to get him to walk, which is what we hope to achieve through this program. 

Nathan is a happy, determined little boy.  He almost never cries and just loves to play and interact with other people.  He never gives up, when he can’t reach something or do something he will just keep on trying and trying.  His motivation has definitely played a huge part in his progress.  He is sensitive to other people’s emotions, especially children, when our daughter was a baby, if she cried, he would look at her for a minute and then start crying too.  Nathan finds humor in everything and really brings joy to everyone around him. 

The Therasuit and the Hyperbaric  Oxygen Therapy would be wonderful for Nathan and we think he would really benefit from this therapy!

We  are so grateful to anyone who can help Nathan receive this therapy.