This is Laurel! Laurel was diagnosed with Spastic diplegia cerebral Palsy at the age of 8 months. She is also diagnosed with hydrocephalus, which is an abnormal buildup of fluid in the ventricles (cavities) deep within the brain. This excess fluid causes the ventricles to widen, putting pressure on the brain’s tissues. Laurel had to have brain surgery at 4 weeks old where they had to placed a shunt to alleviate that pressure. Laurel also has strabismus and has had 4 eye surgeries to help correct but still suffers from central vision impairment, and optic nerve atrophy.
Laurel has had “too many to count” rounds of Botox injections on her legs and hips, along with serial casting on her ankles (she gets a new set of casts every week for 6 to 8 weeks to help her gain more range of motion in her ankles/feet).
She has had SDR (selective dorsal rhizotomy) surgery which is a 6 hr procedure on her spine where 70% of her never rootless to her legs were cut to reduce the spasticity in her legs…this past February she had tendon lengthening in both her legs as well as a tendon transfer that straightened her foot allowing her to walk more flat footed than her norm. She has to build up her stamina and endurance because she has was non weight bearing for so long before and after her surgery. She is determined to get back in her walker and do her activities but will need extensive therapies.

If you know Laurel, you know that she is one of the most active little girls, EVER! She is involved in many physical activities and is also an integral part of her family’s farming business! During the course of farming Season and you will see Laurel all over South Jersey working with her family at their farm stand! However, Laurel is getting too big to carry around and she needs more help than her walker can provide! At this point she requires an All-Terrain wheelchair which can be close to $10,000. When Laurel is able to get her wheelchair, her parents will need to purchase a wheelchair assessible van! Insurance does not cover these cost! A wheel chair assessible van can cost an upward of $100,000. School has also been a challenge for Laurel because of her vision impairment. Insurance does not cover the cost of computers, monitors and computer programs that can assist Laurel with her school work.