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Scarlet Nelson
working to recover from pediatric stroke
Make a donation to the Scarlet Nelson Stroke Rehabilitation Fund via PayPal:
On September 12, 2004, our lives were forever changed when our 17 month old our daughter, Scarlet, became ill and suffered a severe stroke. While the illness that caused the stroke has long-since gone, the brain injury remains. The stroke took Scarlet's ability to speak, sit or stand unassisted and even to do very basic tasks such as eat, drink, open her hands or use her arms.
Scarlet has made great progress since the stroke because of her young age and because her brain is still in a rapid growth stage from birth to about age five years. After the stroke she suffered frequent seizures, agitation, complete loss of motor skills (including lifting her head or torso, swallowing, or lifting her limbs) and frequent bouts of pneumonia, but now with time and extensive therapy she can hold her head up, eat many foods, and move her limbs. We are working tirelessly to maximize Scarlet’s recovery while her brain is still in this rapid growth phase.
With the community's generous support Scarlet has been able to attend 17 weeks (ten weeks in 2006 and seven weeks in 2007)at an intensive therapy program in Ontario, Canada. The program is called “Ability Camp” and is tailored to young, brain-injured children. At Ability Camp, Scarlet received five hours of conductive education and one hour of HBOT daily--far more intense than the weekly eight or nine hours of therapy she receives locally.
At the conclusion of her 2006 stay at Ability Camp, Scarlet regained a host of skills and functions: potty training, limited self-feeding, the ability to sit in a chair or on the floor with limited assistance, the ability to stand and take steps with a walker and assistance, increased verbalization, and this spring was finally able to have her feeding tube removed. The abilities that Scarlet regained during the program were nothing short of miraculous.
During her 2007 stay at Ability Camp we saw Scarlet refine many of the skills that she began developing in 2006. Her standing, sitting and walking endurance increased dramatically. She went from walking a dozen steps to walking the length of a 200' building twice daily; she can 'w' sit on the floor unassisted and play with her dollhouse for ten minutes or more and she can stand holding onto a ladderback chair for 30 minutes. The most exciting gains for her family this year have been her new ability to give hugs and kisses! This is what we've dreamed of for three years!
This past January our goal was to get Scarlet into a conductive education program closer to home. Scarlet spent four weeks at a center in San Jose, California, called "Beginning Steps to Independence" (BSTI) that came highly recommended by the Inter-American Conductive Education Association (IACEA) and offers a program that was especially helpful for Scarlet with 35 hours per week of conductive education and a staff of highly trained therapists.
More recently, our family has joined with two other families to bring a conductive education program to Central Oregon. We have formed a non-profit organization called "Step By Step" and will be working to start a year-round conductive education program for our children and for other children with motor disorders in the Pacific Northwest. Visit www.StepByStepBend.org for further information.
If you would like more information on Scarlet or conductive education, we would be happy to speak to you personally or speak to your organization. Additionally, you may research the therapy program at BSTI by clicking the link below. Donations may be made in Scarlet’s name at any branch of Bank of the Cascades (see bank contact info below), through the Sparrow Club or via PayPal by using the 'donate' buttons on this web site. (Donations made through the Sparrow Club are tax-deductible and must designate 'Scarlet Nelson' to ensure that funds go directly to her Sparrow account.)
We have several fundraising events planned to help Scarlet get the conductive ed she needs. They include: a Krispy Kreme doughnut sale, the 2nd Annual Scarlet Nelson MacKenzie River Rafting Excursion, the sale of photo notecards on this website, and the Costco Wholesale United Way drive.
Thank you for your support; we look forward to writing you soon with news of Scarlet's progress!
The Nelson Family
Alan, Heidi, Alex & Scarlet
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 647-1335
email: TheNelsons@ScarletNelson.com
Bank of the Cascades
Shaun Johnstone
East Forum Branch
2630 NE Hwy 20
Bend, OR 97701
(541) 617-9040
E-mail: shaunj@botc.com
web: www.botc.com
