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My daughter, Maddy was born on February 8, 2007. I had a very easy, full-term pregnancy
and an uncomplicated delivery. At birth, Maddy got a 9 on her Apgar test and right away we knew her lungs worked very well!
Aside from a little colic, parenting a new baby was everything I expected....non-stop nursing, lack of sleep. But at about
6 weeks we started to notice that Maddy only paid attention to things on her left side. I mentioned this at her checkups and
was told not to worry. As Maddy become more and more interested in the world around her, grasping and swatting at toys, it
became obvious that her left hand was way more skilled than her right. Mostly, she kept it clenched into a fist. After having
my worries dismissed at her 2-month and 4-month check up, my husband and I both went to Maddy's 6-month check to stress just
how worried we were about Maddy's physical development. At this point she wasn't rolling over, sitting up or passing toys
from hand to hand. We were referred to a neurologist and met with her a month later. After an exam and a CT scan that same
day Maddy's stroke was diagnosed. The majority of the left side of Maddy's brain was affected by the stroke, which occurred
sometime right before or after birth. We'll never know exactly why or when the stroke happened.
Since receiving that devastating news last September, Maddy has received physical therapy once a week. She's also been
enrolled in our area's Early Intervention Program, though due to lack of funding they can't provide much of the therapy that
Maddy needs. At this point, the majority of Maddy's problems seem to be physical. She's very weak on her right side, especially
her arm. She wears a orthodic on her right foot and a splint on her right hand to keep her from being so clenched. Her stroke
affected the part of the brain responsible for speech so we anticipate having some problems with that down the road. Also,
we've lately discovered that she has hemianopsia, or a visual field cut on the right side of each of her eyes. We're lucky that private therapy (via our insurance company) is an option for and
thanks to a wonderful therapist Maddy has made great progress. She can sit up on her own, cruise along our coffee table
and she's beginning to attempt to crawl. She can say the word 'tickle' and lately she thinks it fun to scoot around and chase
my feet to tickle them. In other words, she's the joy of my life. I don't know what challenges the future holds for Maddy.
The not knowing is by far the hardest part. But, we're just taking it one day at a time, celebrating very achievement and
feeling blessed that Maddy is in our lives.
Amy Carroll
Winthrop, Ma
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