HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY, DEEDEE!

The Lion King: Remember Who You Are

This year Deedee's birthday theme is The Lion King. She loved this movie with passion, and because of it she understood very well what is the Circle of Life. She understood about life and death. And she understood the importance of being true to yourself, and that as life went on after death everyone that seems to go away lives on within us, within our hearts.

Visiting Deedee's Star

We celebrated going to Give Kids the World, checking out Deedee's star. Located in the Potted Galaxy, 563134. We will forever be grateful to the Gaynor Family, who put up a star for Deedee in their visit on 3-3-2013. In the notes she is mentioned as Sofia's sister, who passed away and did not make it to her wish trip. 

It is impressive how the galaxies have grown... Our first time there the tower was new, and there were only 3 galaxies. It is all bitter-sweet... Beautiful, but bitter-sweet.

And where can you find Deedee's star? Here, of course... 

"Deedee the Diva 4 Ever"

The guardian of the castle.

Inside the magical meadow.

Back home, we had a surprise for Deedee. Of course we had cake!

Kali was happy to assist in her sister's place...

And she blew the candle in Deedee's name.

Deedee's godfather was also here with us.

And here we are, our little family.

May there always be an angel watching over all of us.

May that angel always be you.

Our Diva, our Sunshine, our inspiration....

Happy 8th birthday, big girl!

May all your wishes come true.

May your days be filled with happiness and joy.

May you live in blessings and walk in beauty always.

I love you.

We love you.

Always remember...

BABY EIRIAM NEEDS YOUR HELP

Hello everyone! Please help with this fundraiser. This baby girl is Eiriam. Right now she is at the Pediatric Hospital in SJ, Puerto Rico. She was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1, the same illness that Deedee had.

Her mom is going through all the things that we went through when Deedee was there... Just like we did with Deedee, they are trying to give their baby a chance at life. They want to take baby Eiriam to the US so SMA doctors can treat her. There is not much help around them. Please spread the word and help with what you can: Prayers are always welcome, donations are also welcome if you are moved to do so.

Baby Eiriam was born on July 2, 2014. She is intubated, She's been fed via naso-gastric tube. Lungs have been collapsing, and she needs expert care right now. Her family has communicated with Dr.Bach, but none of her doctors back in Puerto Rico feel the need to help her come to the US mainland. They feel she has a terminal illness and there is not much to do but take her home and give her love.

As the whole SMA community knows, this is not true. Yes, there is a diagnostic but there are choices for care and means to provide plenty of quality of life. Kids with SMA with a terminal prognosis have been known to live for more than 5 years, many leaving doctors and other professionals baffled.

Doctors told us Deedee would not live  beyond 1 year. She was with us for 5 years and 2 months, and she lived an outstanding life filled with miracles, love and quality of life.

Please help baby Eiriam have a true chance to live.

BABY EIRIAM's GOFUNDME

PLEASE CLICK HERE!

In Facebook, please contact her mom Mairie Piikeetee Maldonado or her grandmother Magui Perez for any information that you may want to share, or just for the support that they definitively need.

Thank you in advance for your help!

About Disney's Take on Line-Jumping For The Disabled

There has been qite a stir in the SMA community, and special needs kids all over the US, as Disney is changing the way they handled the special needs community... If you want to read about it, go to this article:

Disney's Line-Jumping For Disabled To Change Because Of Abuse

This is what we have to say about it:

"Imagine a child who is quadriplegic (cannot move arms, legs, sand or move at all), non-verbal (speaks with grunts), has a ventilator for breathing (either with a bipap nasal mask or a traqueostomy), must be suctioned all the time as he/she cannot control secretions and may choke if not suctioned, all equipment and wheelchair depends on batteries to work... This child cannot be "safely transferred"like any other kid and must stay in his/her wheelchair where all the emergency equipment which is used daily is kept at all times... A wonderful trip top Disney or any other park is a dream that comes true to the child, but the adults surrounding the child have 2 main tasks: Keeping up with the care and ensuring the kid has fun. Notice that the adults barely go by having the fun that normal families have... Our fun is watching the eyes of our kids light up whenever they get to visit these parks... Even if all they get to do is a meet and greet with characters and the most action they can take is a ride that most people think lame and mild such as Its A Small World. There are many things to consider, especially when it comes to special needs... All Special Needs kids have rights that are warrantied and backed up by the government, and that must be kept being reinforced so fairness is at least feasible...

I will leave you with this thought... Sesame Place is also a wonderful park targetting kids... When I visited with my special needs daughter I did not get any VIP pass, or any special thing... But the people who work there are so sensitive to what they have in front of them that my daighter was treated VIP even if we never asked. I was floored by all the positive attention she got, and I will never forget that yes it was difficult to make the day work... but the people around us made it all magical and worth it. That was Sesame Place... I don't see why Disney would have to be any different.

Another point, all special needs kids have all documentation for their conditions... Normally parents carry copies with all paperwork all the time, just in case... All the parks need to do is require that documentation if the severity of a special need is not immediately apparent...Everything else should be common sense.

Kudos to the Sesame Place for being able to have common sense and live up to doing it all for the kids. Disney: Pay attention, and learn!

August: SMA Awareness Month

August is SMA Awareness Month. Each year, families from all around the globe gather at sunset and light a candle in honor of SMA Angels and SMA Warriors. The candles glow with all the hope that we focus on them, hope for treatment and hope for a cure.

We lit a candle in honor of our SMA Angel, our diva Deirdre. We pray that a cure is found soon so many other families do not have to go through loosing their precious kids. In this day and age, we know that a cure is out there and treatment should be available for everyone (not just SMA kids, but kids with so many conditions around the world). We pray that the hearts of the people in power stop being so hardened, so everyone has a chance to live.

Deedee, you are not forgotten. Your memory inspire many projects that little by little will take shape... and will help others the same way that so many helped you. Keep on being with us in spirit, guiding us. Keep on touching many lives.

Deedee's 6th Birthday

Our Diva's birthday is approaching, and although she is not here with us physically we know that she is watching every single move that we do... We want to do something special in her memory. Any suggestions?

Deedee's Eye Gaze System Donated to SMA Family

We think that Deedee must be happy about this...

An SMA teen received Deedee's eye-gaze system as a donation from us. Deedee's speech therapist helped us find the right family, and it is certainly very fitting that another SMA fighter get it to have another tool for improved quality of life... and for communication. We know that Deedee must be smiling from Heaven...

Deirdre Granted a Star at GKTW

Deirdre Valeria became a star of her own in October 22, 2012. Nevertheless, it weighted heavy in our hearts that she did not get to complete her Make a Wish trip which was scheduled for December. The plan was to take a train from Newark, NJ and travel down to sunny Florida where our Diva would meet Pocahontas and Mulan in person! We were asked if we wanted to do this trip in September, but we went with the idea of December as we wanted her to see Disney in Christmas... We would have stayed in Give Kids the World for a week, and she would have visited her favorite princesses. Sadly, this did not happen...

During the past two weeks we had the privilege of meeting two other families who were close to us through our journey. These families have two SMA princesses: Sophia Gaynor and Stella Turnbull. Both girls celebrated their birthdays visiting the Magic Kingdom.

Sophia made her dreams come true through Make a Wish and was staying at GKTW.

 

Stella had her Make a Wish trip three years ago, and ever since she travels once a year to celebrate her birth. Stella visited GKTW to have some family fun.

During our second visit, we asked the GKTW crew if it was possible for Deedee to have a star since she almost made it there as a wish granted by MaW. After some consideration, and to honor hr memory, they handed us a sparkling star... This sweet gesture deeply moved us. We wrote a small message for Dee in its core, and handed the star to the Star Fairy so she would take it up to the sky and place it in its rightful constellation. Soon we will receive an invitation to go see the star, that should be placed in the Castle of Miracles tower...

Thank you, Give Kids the World. Right now we are completely uprooted and have no physical place to visit Dee as her resting place is in Puerto Rico. Knowing a star with her name is in such a meaningful place inspires us. We are really grateful for this gift of love.

Deirdre Valeria Medina Rivera. Forever loved, forever missed. May the whole world know: She was here on Earth, a living miracle. Now she walks with us as our guardian angel, and as our North Star.

As A New Year Begins

Reminiscing on Deirdre's life, acknowledging that our lives were changed forever for the better. Deirdre brought the best in all of us, and she will keep on making things happen. We know it.

From the beginning me and my husband understood that there was no space for pity or for helplessness. Deirdre needed tools and actions, and so we tried our best to comply. We love her for all she is, for all her accomplishments, for all her dreams. She did not let anything stop her. She dreamed big. She worked hard, so she could have the "privilege" of partying hard. She saw and experienced the world. We are always very proud of everything she did and everything she is doing right now... because we know that as an angel she keeps on being very busy.

Thinking about all that Deirdre inspired, I wrote this in my personal professional blog... Nothing but the truth.

2012

"This year marks big changes in my life. The focus was basically a big lesson on how life should be lived to the fullest, and about the simple fact that if you want to do something just do it. Some people may see that for the past 5 years I vanished from the workforce, but the reality is plain opposite. For 5 years I ran the most important entity that I will ever know, Deirdre Medina. I was in charge of all administrative duties and well as services and public relations. Deirdre demanded a caregiver and an advocate that had an iron fist for “business matters”, as well as a compassionate spirit. This has been the most challenging job that I have mastered… a job with many hats, unpaid in monetary terms, with high stress 24/7, and where all decisions were life or death matters (literally).

As administrator I had to run a sound finances and accounting department so all of Deirdre’s needs were met. Therapists, therapies, equipment, medicines, doctors, and nurses where part of the daily activities and daily expenses. Deirdre needed specific care, and supervision of her physical and mental health was a daunting task. I had to become Deirdre’s R&D team so I could find answers to her daily dilemmas… answers that normal service providers would not give. And so her challenges inspired answers that helped other families with kids in her situation. I researched every single day for 5 years. I looked for answers as professionals gave us the cold shoulder… and got them. Creating and maintaining Deirdre’s website we raised awareness about her illness, guided new families, gathered funds for her needs, and promoted all the important events of her life.

Thanks to Deirdre Medina  I have been web designer, graphic designer, marketing team, research and development, assistive technology professional, event coordinator, accounting/finance department, human resources department, physical therapist, alternative medicine practitioner, occupational therapist, special needs advocate, special education advocate, special needs media specialist. And underneath all this, I was also honored to be her mother.

It has been the most demanding, hard job that I have ever done. I never even imagined I would learn so much, and put into practice so many things I learned from co-workers and friends. I never imagined that my knowledge in Information Systems would be the main tool that would facilitate my daughter’s learning and daily life. Thanks to technology she was able to have a voice via an eye-gaze system. Thanks to technology she could play with a toy even if she could only barely move a finger… activating it via movement detection sensor. Thanks to technology she enjoyed books, and she aspired to become an animation artist. Helping her I learned so many possibilities for special needs kids! She gave me the biggest gift in my life, she showed me how to love technology because of what it can do within a positive environment.

2012 was the end of my world, I lost Deirdre. But I see her alive in my finding out how to reach others and teach them all I have learned… Running the Deirdre Medina empire assured me that I can do anything when I put my mind to it, and that without sacrifice there is truly no glory. Sacrifice, hardships… challenges that develop your character… experiences that make you grow. Things are different in every way. 

I hope that 2013 is the year where the command of “just do it” comes true. I’ll keep dreaming my diva’s dreams (Deirdre was known as Deedee the diva), and I’ll use all within my power to make them all happen. True happiness comes when you help others with your heart in your open hands. I look forward to becoming a media specialist and keep on gaining knowledge in AT and special ed. I also look forward to creating Deirdre Medina’s Foundation… for helping SMA kids who are abandoned in hospitals, and to raise awareness about SMA… But that is another story…

Right now 2012′s last days are bittersweet, as it is the time to enjoy my homeland as I am getting ready for a new journey. Florida, here we come! May Deirdre guide my path, and smile from Heaven… as I look for my destiny."

From Vivian Rivera: Artiste & Techie, "2012"

IN LOVING MEMORY

IN LOVING MEMORY OF OUR BELOVED DAUGHTER

Deirdre Valeria Medina-Rivera
"Deedee The Diva"
Aug 17, 2007- Oct 22, 2012
Forever 5 years old

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anoint my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
-Psalm 23


Deirdre Valeria Medina-Rivera was buried on Sunday, October 28th, 2012 at Vivaldi Cemetery in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Deirdre had two funerals, one in New Jersey (where her life actually took place, touching the lives of many people) and one in her homeland (so family could meet her and see her for a last time).

Our family wishes to thank all the people that one way or another were touched by our diva. The love and support we got from you all through this hard time has been overwhelming and humbling. Thank you.

4:55 AM

It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce that Deedee The Diva was called to Heaven today at 4:55am. She was not sick, she had no plugs, she had no lung collapse. Her heart gave up, and then internal bleeding followed. This came out of the blue, for no reason. We will update with funeral plans soon. Right now... we are assimilation, re-grouping... and trying to make sense of all this.

Synagis Shot Approved!

After getting an initial denial, insurance approved the doctor's appeal for Synagis shots for Deirdre. One less fight in the neverending battle for what Deirdre needs. Thanks to Mrs. Llibre, Dr.V and Dr. M for their effort.

RSV season is here, and the Synagis is a shot that protects against RSV. Parents of high risk children shouldn't forget to consider Synagis shots to prevent RSV infections through the winter RSV season.

The Respiratory Syncytial Virus causes a cold in older children, but it can cause serious life threatening infection in younger high risk children, and children with neuromuscular illness and respiratory distress. These children can develop bronchiolitis, which is associated with inflammation in the lungs, wheezing and difficulty breathing. RSV can also cause croup, ear infections and pneumonia.

SMA kids should get the RSV shot, especially if they go out of their house during fall/winter season. It is not an absolute remedy, but a precaution. As always, use sound judgement and take other profilactic precautions. 

"Children usually develop symptoms about 2-8 days after being exposed to someone with an RSV infection (the incubation period). These symptoms initially include just a clear runny nose, but as the virus spreads, symptoms may worsen, and may include coughing, vomiting, fever (which can range from low grade to very high), rapid breathing with retractions and nasal flaring, wheezing, and poor feeding. In severe cases, children may have apnea and respiratory failure.

Like most viral infections, treatment of RSV infections are usually symptomatic. In children with wheezing and difficulty breathing, nebulized treatments with albuterol may be helpful. In general, though, breathing treatments only help about 25% of children with bronchiolitis, so if your child doesn't have a good response to a breathing treatment, your doctor will likely not continue them.

Other treatments may include supplemental oxygen and intravenous fluids if your child is not able to eat and drink well. Treatment of bronchiolitis with steroids is controversial, and is generally not thought to be helpful. Since it is a virus, treatment with antibiotics is also not usually helpful, unless your child develops a secondary bacterial infection.

Although most children with RSV infections can be safely treated at home, those with a chronic medical condition, need to be hospitalized and closely monitored. Occasionally, children with severe difficulty breathing and/or apnea need to be placed on ventilator to help them breath. RSV can also be fatal in some hildren."

-from About.com pediatrics

Bantam Stander Arrived!

After a quest of more than 5 months, the new stander for Deirdre arrived! We had sent it out to insurance in April, but the paperwork got lost at both ends (insurance & DME). Nevertheless, persistence finally paid off... Deirdre has a BANTAM stander that hopefully will help her achieve many physical goals.

Right now the main concern is that her knees began contracting thanks to going for so long without a stander. It is very dissapointing when details like this goes unnoticed by the service providers... their negligence and lack of interest has this consequences. Now we have to work with Deirdre to see if it is possible to go back to where she was... no contractions whatsoever, and the ability to stand in her stander for up to 6 hours without problems.

Right now we go back to begin with endurance, tolerance, use of knee brace AFO (Ankle foot orthosis), and use of her TLSO (Thoracolumbosacral orthosis: This is one of two main types of braces used to correct the lateral (sideways) curve of the spine in scoliosis. Right now Deirdre has no curvature in her spine, and we want to keep it that way. The main problem is that her TLSO is hard and very tight... We need to seek further advice about this as it is obvious that it hinders her breathing.

We have researched myofascial release therapy, a specialty PT that may help with the knee contractures, but as usual insurance becomes a big problem... We still have to see if we can find a PT for this specific purpose and validate its use for Deirdre.  

Camp Pontiac & Bronx Zoo

Deirdre participated on the Starlight Foundation activity at Camp Pontiac in Copake,NY. That was a 3-day adventure (Sept 14-16) in which we all enjoyed life without pollution or city sounds. Deirdre experienced mountains, trees, a gorgeous lake, mandatory arts & crafts, and she met some other kids with different abilities just like her!

On Sunday 23, Deirdre visited the Bronx Zoo. It was a nice sunny day in which we saw greenery and some animals. She enjoyed the Mouse House, but the treat was the Dora 4D movie, which definitively surprised her.

Besides the outings, our diva had an ENT checkup and pulmonology checkup and all is good. For the next Fall/Winter season she will use Pulmicort at nights and Albuterol in the mornings as preventive nebulizer treatments. We are still waiting on approval for synagys so she has some RSV protection. The stander should arrive next week, and the power wheelchair trial for fiber optics vs mini joystick is also coming up. Hopefully we will have good news soon. Stay tuned!

Kindergarten!

Deirdre started Kindergarten classes on Friday, September 7th. She gets home-bound education during weekdays for two hours each day. Mr.Farina keeps on being her teacher, which is something that she loves. This time she has a complete group of therapists, which provide PT, OT, ST and AT. We are happy to say that finally her assistive technology needs are being addressed by an ATP, and that her speech therapist is someone who knows what to stress, how to reach Deirdre's attention, and is fighting to make Deirdre come back to the level of communication she should have by now when it comes to strangers. Her OT keeps on helping her master the mvement on her thumbs and index fingers, so she can be as independent as possible through the use of switches and the like.

Some details still need to be taken care of, but at least the basics are running and our Deeva is happy and honing some skills. Her IEP needs changes as some details need to be specified... Hopefully an IEP meeting will happen soon.

Overall, we find it very sad and discouraging when there is no real interest in solving the issues of a little girl that needs specific things to reach goals... especially when they are her right. We hope that the professionals that handle her therapies now can accomplish what we have been trying to make the Newark Public Schools understand: Deirdre's illness requires prompt attention. If she looses a skill, it is very unlikely that she can get it back. Spinal Muscular Atrophy is degenerative. Thus is the importance of all the therapies.

At such a young age this is very critical to maintain skills. NPS has been wasting valuable time in bureaucracy, thus harming her educational outlook by ignoring her needs. When parents are educated and know what is the law and what are the procedures to make their kids really productive, people should listen. It is sad that what Mommy has been preaching for 2 years is what now the new specialists are seeing and trying to solve... Why couldn't NPS address these needs when it was all laid out very clearly? It is a big shame. And Deirdre becomes the victim of such lack of interest in her as a person and as a student.

Still, even without the adequate support, Deirdre loves school. People must be reminded that although she cannot talk or move, her mind is intact. She understands when people speak to her, and she has her own ideas, opinions, feelings, and dreams. She wants to be an animation artist! Facing daily challenges because of the lack of a sound support group is beyond unfair. She has a thirst for knowledge, and for expressing herself. She matters. She exists. We keep fighting so communication and independence comes true very soon.





  

DEEDEE Turned 5 Years Old!!!

In August 17, our beloved diva turned 5 years old. This year the theme for her celebration was Pocahontas. She dressed up with her Pocahontas costume, and enjoyed a day filled with music, movies, gifts, and of course cake.

Thank you so much to our friends and family from Puerto Rico and Florida for being there every year! Especially Grandmothers Millie and Edna, Great Grand Aunt Gladys, Godfather Steve, Godmother Maria, and our supporting cast here in our home away from home.

And above all, we thank God for the privilege of sharing our lives with such an amazing young lady! We love you Deedee! Viva la diva!!!

SMA Candle Lighting

The second Saturday in August is the official SMA Awareness Day worldwide. Families and friends light a candle in honor of so many SMA angels who watch from Heaven, and for our SMA warriors who keep fighting SMA every second... We light a candle in hopes for a cure, and to manifest that not a single kid has been forgotten.

Help us in our quest to find a cure!

Gene Therapy: For donations to this end, reach the Sofia's Cure Foundation. They donate 100% of their funds for gene therapy, and they have an anonymous donor that is matching whatever quantity they raise.

Animal Model: Reach Gwendelyn Strong Foundation's 200K for SMA project if you are interested in funding Phase Two of the first ever SMA pre-clinical animal model.

Virginia Vacation Getaway!

During the last weekend of July, Deedee and her family went on to Virginia Beach to enjoy a vacation getaway weekend won from the Joseph Lillo SMA Foundation for Children. This is a non-profit organization committed to raising awareness, and raising money for research and medical equipment for families affected by SMA and other disorders. Little Joseph earned his angel wings when he was just three months old because of SMA, and through this foundation his legacy of hope keeps on thanks to all who loved him dearly.

Deedee was lucky enough to win this family getaway, a contest open to SMA kids within the Tri-State area. From Friday 27th to Monday 30th, Deedee made this journey and savored every second of it... She fought sleep at all moments as she did not want to miss a thing! So, she got to travel the Chesapeake bridge-tunnel, stay at Dolphin Inn where she enjoyed a close-up-and-personal  view of the beach and ocean, visit Busch Gardens, visit Grommet's Island, and enjoy close family time with Mom, Dad and sister Kali.

This adventure marked a huge step for us all. Ever since our move from Puerto Rico to New Jersey, we had not ventured far as we had to be wary of Deedee's delicate condition... She frequently ended up in the hospital staying there for weeks. This is the first time we venture to a place that is beyond two hours away... Reaching this big milestone for our family has been priceless.

We have seen the bad and the ugly of SMA, but we won't let it stop Deedee. She has much to accomplish, and we are here to provide the tools so she can make her dreams come true. Viva la Diva! Watch out world! Our birthday girl will be 5 years old in two weeks! Take that SMA!

First 2 weeks of Camp at Newark Museum!

Deedee has so far completed the first two weeks of camp, with much success! We thought that her schedule for Summer (4 hours of classes) would drain her and not let her enjoy the camp... Boy, were we wrong! The girl is having a blast, doing her own crafts, and just had her return to stage. She surprised us with strong moves from her right arm and hand while using a paintbrush and while using her switch for playing Whack a Mole.

Viva la diva!

Hippotherapy, in process...

Deirdre had her hippotherapy evaluation. Although we thought she would not be able to pass the intake, she somehow did. We are all on the same page that she needs lots of physical therapy before any horse contact. The PT points out she has a high need for stimulation and movement, just doing. And so, the journey begins!

Now, the AMAZING part was witnessing a PT who held her upwards for over 15 minutes, managing her without fear, and having an empathy that we have barely seen. We were floored by how she took her off the wheelchair and positioned her sitting completely straight over a tumbler, making slight moves mimicking some of the riding moves... all the while holding her head/neck securely and with a confidence that we have not seen all this time from any of her PTs. And Deirdre was not scared. She looked surprised and calm, enjoying her surroundings as anyone else would. She did not desated, tolerating with 97-98 oxigenation and heart rate between 120-140. This was a WOW moment for us, and we know it also was a WOW moment for her.

After witnessing this we get reassured of the kind of things she should be receiving in matters of PT, and that sadly no one who has come to our home has done to this date (except for OT Maya and OT Gail who are at the other end of the rainbow as they are AMAZING). We now have certainty that our fight is well founded, and that Deirdre's services must improve. There is so much she can do, and only people who actually believe in her should be allowed to be around her... period. So... hippotherapy, and aquatic therapy if approved. Now we are certain we need to seek out PT and SLP services from real, confident and experienced professionals as they are out there. Main problem, of course, our insurance and its lack of coverage...But where there is a will, there is a way.

Hippotherapy intake evaluation

Deirdre's hippotherapy intake evaluation is coming up! Hopefully the PT will determine that she is able to get this specific type of therapy that could help her improve lung prowess and positioning for daily activities.

As a consequence of Deirdre’s disease, she is unable to stand, sit or perform stretching or walking exercises without proper help. SMA creates severe muscle weakness that hinders the ability to lift or move arms and legs, hold the head, swallow and talk.  Deirdre  must undertake alternative forms of therapies in order to maintain her already limited strength, mobility, and flexibility as well as to minimize the serious and costly medical complications which can result from such profound immobility. Based on medical data, Deirdre would benefit from a continued program of trunk and upper/lower extremity movement through hippotherapy. 

Hippotherapy provides a complex rehabilitation treatment. The multidimensional equine movement (which is variable, rhythmic and repetitive) achieves coordinated muscle movements in the arms, trunk and the legs, which will allow Deirdre to receive a therapeutic dosage of intensive diverse movement which she would not otherwise be able to obtain. 

Benefits of hippotherapy: Hypertonia prevention (muscle tightness),  enhances neurological and musculoskeletal functions and sensory processing, enhances postural control and trunk equilibrium, enhances speech and language skills, and improve social, behavioral and cognitive skills.