Bear was born 6 lbs 15 oz 21.25 inches of pure sugar! Uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery with no family history.

Around this milestone is where I stared to notice he was falling behind (not rolling over or sitting unassisted) so I started intentionally working with him on acommplishing these tasks!

At 8 months old, Bear was not sitting unassisted, rolling over without difficulty and started showing a strong preference to his left side when playing with toys. The pediatrician agreed Bear was falling behind so he sent referrals for an MRI and physical therapy. There was a several month wait list for the MRI and therapy so we continued working with him at home.

This month Bear was able to get started with physical therapy and we received the MRI results that confirmed Bear expereinced a perinatal stroke at around 20 weeks. The stroke occurred on the left side of his brain affecting his right limbs. We would have to wait to see how it affected things like his cognition and speech, if at all. He has no other health concerns so we were advised the only treatment plan would be therapy, therapy, therapy!

We spent the next few months in physical therapy once a week and eventually adding occupational and speech therapy. We were happy to see some progress but it felt like everything was moving in slow motion. 60 minutes a week did not feel like enough. When an adult has a stroke, there are intensive rehabilitation programs available to get them back on their feet. Where was the intensive style programs for children like Bear?!

I could not shake the feeling that he needed an “intensive” style therapy so I spent many nights scouring the internet. I stumbled upon a Facebook post of a parent raving about this medical trial. That’s it! Why didn’t I ever think of a medical trial?! I reached out to the team at MUSC and someone responded to me by the end of that day. Its a medical trial, results are not guaranteed but it still felt like an answered prayer! We had to temporarily move to Charleston for 6 weeks for Bear to complete this trial. We could not have done this without support from our family!