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Showing posts from January, 2016

Roll on, Eden

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Eden on Kahlua, with handlers and therapist Mary Elizabeth. When most of us hear the scientific name of a child’s disease, we may be little more than curious.   Sometimes, when it’s a term we don’t understand, we may even Google the word.   It is when a disabling disease might affect someone in our family that we realize the suffering caused by such a label. When Jacob’s Fund learned about Eden we were told he had hydrocephalus.   My mind conjured up the well-known phrase, “Water on the brain.”   Eden is an eleven-year-old loving, smiling boy.   And hydrocephalus, his diagnosis, presents many challenges each day for him. While a shunt inserted inside his skull prevents the fluid buildup and enlarged head characteristic of hydrocephalus, he suffers seizures and has had significant dental surgery. He has difficulty swallowing and is significantly developmental delayed.   He requires Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy.   He began hippotherapy more