My Son: The Superhero with Cerebral Palsy
“Hi, my name is Easton and I will be 5-years old in March; I was diagnosed with Right Hemiplegia at age-2. A form of Cerebral Palsy, Hemiplegia affects both my right arm and right leg, most likely caused by a stroke at birth due to lack of oxygen. At a very early age my parents knew I was different, even before I was diagnosed. When I was really young I favored my left hand, dragged my right foot, turned my ankle outwards and army-crawled, unlike most kids that used their hands and knees. My mommy (@loveandbabies) and daddy (@tippin20s_) kept asking the doctors about me, but they kept saying I was too young to tell anything for sure and that by age-2 we would know if any further testing was needed. Finally the day came and I was referred to the Neuromuscular (specialty) Clinic at Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center. My (now) favorite doctor there diagnosed me within minutes of meeting me and hearing my mommy’s story - she called me “a textbook case”. I didn’t know what that meant but she assured my mommy and daddy that my condition was mild and that I would be okay. The doctor talked about a lot of other things that could happen to me; ADD, epilepsy, all kinds of scary thing. I could tell mommy was afraid so I held her hand the whole time. My mommy and daddy knew they would fight for me and get the care I needed and that no matter what I was the best version of me!
Since then my team of doctors, nurses and physical therapists have treated me so special and take really good care of me. In 2015 I was equipped with a right-AFO (ankle foot orthotic) brace to correct and retrain my leg to walk straight and support my ankle - the doctors now say I may be upgrading to a shorter brace in 6-months and may not have to wear it at all in another year or so!
Before preschool I met with some very nice teachers to test my brain function and see how much of it was affected by my stroke. They tell my mommy and daddy that I am SO smart (too smart for my own good sometimes) and function higher than my age level; this makes mommy and daddy proud of course. I don’t let my condition hold me back and I tell everyone that I meet about my “super-charged leg” that helps me run faster! I am learning to get myself dressed and can now even take my brace on and off, which makes mommy and daddy so happy and proud! One day I want to play baseball like my daddy, who tells me I definitely have the arm for it. My mommy tells me that I'm her little superhero - I like the sound of that!"
