Our beautiful 2 year old son, Tyler Backus was born on October 28th, 2010 after a healthy full term pregnancy. At 3 weeks old he contracted Bacterial Meningitis and was in the hospital for 3 weeks. It caused a brain insult and when he was 4 months old he was diagnosed with infantile spasms which he was heavily medicated for and is now free from.
At 4 months old our neurologist diagnosed Tyler with mild cerebral palsy in his upper limbs and recommended physiotherapy through Halton region. When he was a year old he was diagnosed with quadriplegic spastic cerebral palsy so all four limbs were affected.
Tyler started seeing numerous therapists on a bi-weekly basis such as Physio, Occupational, Speech, and massage and recently an Osteopath, and Chiropractor.
In October 2012 we enrolled Tyler in to part-time daycare where his experiences and interactions among his peers have improved his communication, cognitive and social skills. We look forward to continuing his success at daycare when he transfers over to the preschool room in July 2013.
Erin Oaks offered us an 8 week hydrotherapy program in November 2012 in a 92 degree pool in Mississauga and Tyler loved it and started to walk! We take him to a heated pool in Oakville once a week where he continues to flourish and I don’t think he even realizes it is therapy.
We returned home in February 2013 from a 5 week intensive Conductive Education program at The Ability Camp in Picton, Ontario. Tyler had some definite improvements such as: improved sitting balance, improved head control, and less startle reaction. We really enjoyed the Conductive Education program and feel it has helped us learn a new approach to therapy and plan to continue it at home. Tyler began a Conductive Education program through March of Dimes in April 2013 for 10 weeks.
As of July 2013, Tyler will start Therapeutic horseback riding at T.E.A.D for 8 weeks. We have heard that it can be very beneficial in muscle and cardio endurance, improving head and balance control and increasing core strength.
It can be very overwhelming at times, however, we are confident that our strong-willed little boy will prevail due to all of his hard work and determination. We don’t expect miracles but want our son to be as independent as possible and we will help him obtain that. Even though his progress is slow he truly does amaze us everyday.
