Miami Herald

A Sock Hop in Hollywood raised money for kids with severe neuromuscular disorders.
By Eileen Soler

Wearing '50s attire, Joel Shapiro and Caroline Turner jitterbug at the sock-hop fundraiser for Bright Steps Forward, a nonprofit group that helps children with severe neuromuscular disorders.
Bobby-soxers twirled in their poodle skirts, a bebop band belted tunes, even Elvis cut a rug at a sock-hop fundraiser for kids who have trouble simply walking.
''Most of us love to dance, but to do it for children who need us makes dancing really special,'' said Caroline Turner, dressed circa 1954 and swinging on the dance floor at the Orangebrook Golf and Country Club in Hollywood.
The cause: a nonprofit organization called Bright Steps Forward, led by Annette Cavaliere of Sunrise, which raises money to treat children with severe neuromuscular disorders at Therapies 4 Kids in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and New York City.

Founded in 2004 by Pembroke Pines mother Eileen de Oliveira, whose son Lucas, 4, has muscular dystrophy, Therapies 4 Kids provides three weeks of intensive physical therapy four hours a day in five-day stretches using highly complex methods.The equipment includes mats, interactive toys, therapy tables, a ''spider cage'' for suspended mobility, a universal exercise machine and Therasuits -- contraptions made up of a vest, shorts, kneepads and shoes connected by adjustable straps and rubber bands to provide skeletal support.
Additional help comes from hyperbaric oxygen therapy to awaken sleeping brain cells.
''I was a little scared at first to do it, but I saw the difference in one day of treatment,'' said Nicholas Stasiulis, 12, of Miramar.
Nicholas, a Glades Middle School sixth-grader with muscular dystrophy who fearlessly addressed a crowd of 300 at the dance, said his body was very stiff before therapy.
''Now, my muscles are stronger and loose. I can walk better and do everything better. I love it and I love everyone who helped me get the therapy,'' Nicholas said.
De Oliveira said she opened the clinic after Lucas, then 18 months old and unable to crawl, received treatments at the facility, which at the time was operated by a different pediatric therapy group. After the fourth day, he crawled, and by the end of the second week, he walked.

Then the place closed.

De Oliveira bought the business and all the equipment. With help from a group of therapists, including medical and rehabilitation therapy expert Dr. Steven BiFulco, she started Therapies 4 Kids.Since then, 350 children worldwide have been treated at the center. With Cavaliere's help, Bright Steps Forward has provided full or partial funding for a dozen needy patients.
Three-week sessions cost about $5,000, which is not always covered by insurance. Cavaliere, a former community fundraiser liaison for Wal-Mart, said 48 children are on a waiting list.
''If we can pay for every child, it would be the most wonderful thing,'' Cavaliere said.
The sock hop raised about $10,000. But equally important, de Oliveira said, it raised awareness. A dozen participants called afterward to donate money, time and goods for future happenings.
''It's heartwarming to know people care enough to learn about us, be aware that kids out there can get the help they need, and come out to see what a difference one week can make,'' de Oliveira said.
For information about Therapies 4 Kids, visit www.therapies4kids.com or call 954-491-6611. For information about Bright Steps Forward, visit www.brightstepsforward.org or call 954-608-9930.