The Teresa Method!!!!!

WOW!
I could sing!

Okay, so I haven't wanted to say anything about this because we had no idea if the funding would come through or if we would even get one session in, but the stars have aligned and I have wonderful (hopefully wonderful) news!

When Maisie was around a year old, we met at the hospital a woman who had a then-four-year-old, named Teresa, with similar problems -- gastroenterology, feeding, hypotonia -- due to Batten's disease, a very rare, terminal brain disorder. Teresa's mom, Nadine, is a registered nurse and has a ton of experience in holistic medicine after years of working for acupuncturists and qi (pronounced chee) doctors as well as in more mainstream hospitals and pediatricians' offices. She stopped practicing when Teresa was born because her medical demands required so much of Nadine's time. When it became apparent that Teresa was not developing normally, around six months old, Nadine struggled long and hard to get her the help she needed. Unfortunately, she was met with a lot of skepticism and it took another two years to finally be taken seriously. During this time, she drew upon the only resource she had, her medical training, to help Teresa and give her some relief. Although her methods were educated guesses, she met incredible success. Unfortunately, by the time she was able to get Teresa diagnosed and treated, her life was almost over. At the beginning of last year, Teresa died at the tender young age of six. In her memory, Nadine began researching and developing a new form of holistic healing which incorporates acupuncture theories (largely without the needles), qi therapy, aromatherapy, yoga, and other forms of holistic medicine. For months she has had a long waiting list of patients with the right of first refusal when she begins to practice on the public. And, in November, she announced the opening of her home therapy program, in which she travels to your home for a therapy session once a week or so of what she is calling "the Teresa Method."

Aaaaaand, drumroll please, we have been selected as one of the first families to receive care! This is thrilling because we have had so little success with other forms of therapy. I know I haven't really talked about it, but the truth is that for all the hours Maisie spends in feeding and physical therapy, she has not made much progress. I'm so excited by the prospect of trying something new that might help Maisie turn a corner.

Just a quick update at the end here, since Maisie is napping this is a good time to post. We have been continuing the beta blocker I talked about before. It's hard to tell this early in the game, but I like to think there is some progress. She is supported-standing, standing or walking along holding the edge of the table like a baby, more and more often. This represents a regression of three years, but it is, after all, a big improvement from the total inability to stand that she was experiencing a few months ago. The physical therapist thinks this behavior might indicate balance issues, and so she is doing some things to physical therapy to work on balance and body strength at the same time. I'm going to do a separate post on the individual exercises Maisie does, and if you're interested I will post her Teresa Method therapy exercises as well.

I hope y'all get as much good news as we have this week!