Help HOPE Live for Austin Lesniewski

Help Austin gain his independence! Austin is a 7-year-old living with Cerebral Palsy. Austin and his twin sister were born unexpectedly at just 29 weeks gestation. As a result of such premature birth and loss of oxygen during delivery, Austin suffered from damage to the inner parts of his brain (PVL). This condition affects his vision, causes spastic muscles, and affects all motor movements. Although he has made incredible progress with his motor skills, he is constantly working against his body for every movement. The spasticity in his muscles caused major hip dysplasia which resulted in femoral derotation surgery along with tendon lengthening as well as tendon transfer all done bilaterally (equal on both sides of his body.) the surgery was very large and the recovery process has been incredibly lengthy. Austin has extensive physical therapy including a few intensive therapy sessions a year, plus non-invasive medical procedures which all come with a large financial hardship. He is working on gaining strength and independence so that he can access his environment and community like his peers. Austin is very social and loves to be out and about! Since gaining more strength post surgery he loves to be in his walker on the playground at school to be like his peers. His smile and expressions attract so many people and we are often approached by strangers telling us how sweet and special he is. He is very intelligent and extremely inquisitive. His questions will make you laugh as they aren’t ones you would typically expect from a 7-year-old. He is happy, loving & an incredibly hard worker who makes a lasting impression on everybody who enters his life. Due to Austin’s disability, simple skills are challenging for him. His legs are very stiff which makes it hard for him to move them without them scissoring or crossing. Surgery helped this but it’s something he will constantly have to work on. He has gained lots of core strength over the years but it’s constantly a work in progress to help him achieve a sitting position and maintain it independently. The spasticity in his muscles makes precise movements difficult, for example using utensils takes a lot of work, as well as all the handwriting required in school but Austin is learning ways to make it work for him. He is working on using his walker more and more but his wheelchair is currently his main mode of moving around still. Austin is fundraising for needed equipment and to be able to access more therapy. Insurance does not cover all equipment as they don’t deem it “medically necessary” but equipment such as a gait trainer will give him the support he needs to keep working on his walking and gain more independence and strength. He has also been asking to try hippotherapy which in itself is around $600/month. This special therapy service has been on our list for a while as it has been proven to help improve muscle tone, balance, postural control, and motor development. All of these things would help Austin’s body and greatly improve his quality of life. We hope to be able to continue to provide therapy for Austin that will decrease his pain and help him gain the strength he needs to give him skills that will allow him to lead a happy & healthy life as independently as possible. He is very determined and is constantly telling us “I do it by my own self” so we want to provide him with anything necessary to allow that independence. We hope to be able to provide the necessary equipment to allow him to access recreational activities in a safe way with his sister and peers. We would be honored if you donated to Help Hope Live in Austin’s honor today and ask your friends and family to give as well. We would love to plan fundraisers and community events in Austin’s honor if you are able to help with that, please reach out to his mom at [email protected]! Thank you for your generous support!

Family and friends of Austin Lesniewski are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with Catastrophic Illness.