BodyTalk

One of the alternative treatments that the Family Hope Center uses to help their brain-injured kids is BodyTalk, developed 10 years ago by Dr. John Veltheim. Jon & I attended a one-day class offered in Columbus.

“BodyTalk is a simple and effective holistic therapy that allows the body’s energy systems to be re-synchronized so they can operate as nature intended. Each system, cell, and atom is in constant communication with each other at all times, BodyTalk stimulates the body’s innate ability to balance and heal itself on all levels.”

In class we learned five basic BodyTalk techniques and also a technique called Fast Aid that can be used during a "first aid" situation. BodyTalk relies on a light tapping procedure to facilitate communication in the body. Tapping over both hemispheres of the brain and alternating with tapping over the center of the chest to activate the energetic heart complex. We have even noticed Kevin tapping his own head at times.

The day after the class we went to church and I couldn't believe what the second reading was about...the body! I know that there are many meaning to this reading...but still...I couldn't help but feel we got a personal message from God that morning.


1 Cor 12:12-30 or 12:12-14, 27
Brothers and sisters:
As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Now the body is not a single part, but many.
If a foot should say,
“Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body, “
it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.
Or if an ear should say,
“Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body, “

It does not for this reason belong any less to the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?
If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
But as it is, God placed the parts,
each one of them, in the body as he intended.
If they were all one part, where would the body be?
But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you, “
nor again the head to the feet, “I do not need you.”
Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker
are all the more necessary,
and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable
we surround with greater honor,
and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety,
whereas our more presentable parts do not need this.
But God has so constructed the body
as to give greater honor to a part that is without it,
so that there may be no division in the body,
but that the parts may have the same concern for one another.
If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it;
if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.
Some people God has designated in the church
to be, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers;
then, mighty deeds;
then gifts of healing, assistance, administration,
and varieties of tongues.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?
Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing?
Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

The Family Hope Center

We are looking forward to the new skills Kevin will achieve this year in 2010. And we still need expert guidance to keep Kevin progressing but we are making one change this year, we are leaving The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential and joining the Family Hope Center. Both places are located in Philadelphia. We have known about the FHC for about two years now…but had no real reason to switch because we were happy with the results Kevin was making at IAHP. But the real appeal of FHC is that they are a bit more realistic in regards to having a family life. When I first browsed the FHC website I found a Do’s and Don’t list that they offered. The first "Do" listed was “Take some time to pray every day, before you begin treating your child.” I don’t have to tell you that for someone to state this as their first point earns big points in my book. And one other "Do" that caught my eye was to “Laugh a lot, and go out as a family at least once per week.” Well as you know being on IAHP Intensive Treatment Program for the last three years has really limited our “free time”. One of IAHP's requirements is to carry out a full program 7 days a week and 365 days a year…no holidays or vacations…until of course you take a “honeymoon”. It was really difficult carrying out a program this intense for the last three and a half years and when we did take our honeymoon break (this past summer) from the program it just felt wrong to do none of the program. As nice as it was taking our honeymoon this past summer…it was also a bit crazed because we were trying to cram in the 3 years of fun we missed out on in 3 months time and not knowing when we would get another break. So we knew that we would eventually make the switch to FHC we just were not in a big hurry. I’m not sorry the way it turned out. Kevin is walking because of IAHP and Glenn Doman. And honestly there was a lot of hard work to be done to try and close the gap on Kevin’s development. That is why I did not want to take a honeymoon until Kevin was walking because I could not stop any momentum we had going until we reached that point…plus I knew it would be that much more enjoyable to have a honeymoon with Kevin walking and having some independence...plus I am a crazy mom...but it has proven to get the job done.

So here’s what I know so far about the FHC. Matthew and Carol Newell used to work at IAHP for many years. And they decided to open their own clinic with what I would call a "healthier approach to family". So really we are hoping to have the best of both worlds. They have had all the training and expertise from Glenn Doman and IAHP but have expanded on that with some other alternative treatments. Plus they only require that we do program 5 ½ days a week. Giving us a ½ day to do errands and a whole day to spend together as a family and do normal things. Because we will be new clients at FHC, Jon and I have to attend their Parent Seminar. We will do this on March 23, 2010 for 3 days. The following Monday and Tuesday the Team will develop an individualized, comprehensive, and integrated program designed specifically for Kevin’s needs. And they will of course teach us how to implement the program ourselves at home. We will return to FHC every six months to have Kevin evaluated and update his treatment program.

We are very excited to make this change. In fact we have already implemented the 5 1/2 day program and are enjoying it immensely.

2009 Snow Much Fun on New Year's Eve

My brother and his family came to our house to celebrate New Years Eve with us. I thought it was very appropriate that Kevin got to end his big year with his cousins and a couple new experiences with them. He got to go sled-riding down a big hill with his uncle, aunt, and cousins. He loved it! And Kevin even went to his first movie in a theater Disney’s Princess and the Frog. It was an exciting way to end a great year.

Now lets talk about Kevin and the snow. I really underestimated what Kevin would be able to do in the snow. When we took Kevin out for the first time to go sled-riding, he had a new pair of snow boots to wear. Now you have to remember that Kevin only got his first pair of shoes this past April. I thought the snow boots would be too heavy for him and he would trip in them…not to mention walking in snow in them. Well he has proven me wrong. Not only can he wear the snow boots but he can walk in deep snow and up a slippery snowy driveway. We have had a lot of fun so far this winter going out in the snow. In fact the other day we went sled-riding to the big hill again and he walked up the hill three times (with some hand held assistance) and then we came home and he walked around the house and then around the block. WOW!!!

2009 Christmas

2009 was a very big year for us with Kevin conquering his ability to walk. But almost as important was the new found independence that Kevin has gained from this new ability. It really has opened up a whole new world for all of us. Celebrating the holidays this year was especially enjoyable...it was our best Christmas yet! It was the first time that we have celebrated Christmas and Kevin actually was participating, involved, and excited. When we celebrate Christmas at Grandee & Pap's house, Santa delivers a big red bag full of gifts for the grandkids. The kids were passing out the gifts and when they saw an especially large gift...the kids said "wow who's is this?"...and when they said Kevin it's your gift...Kevin got very excited and started squealing with delight. But best of all after visiting family I felt like they got to "see" Kevin. He didn’t go off by himself and get lost in the crowd of family, in fact he sometimes dominated it, which can be hard to do with five other cousins.

2009 Summer Honeymoon

Our honeymoon (a break from the program) was spent with family and friends and included many outings and adventures during the summer of 2009.

We began our honeymoon on June 12, 2009. We spent our first day at the Cleveland Zoo with The Hudak’s (Kevin's Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Ron & Aunt Sarah, and her family). It was a perfect, perfect day. The weather was beautiful and it was our first outing with all the Hudak’s together.



One week later we began our vacation to Myrtle Beach. But first I picked up my Dad to travel with us on our way to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit Kevin's Great Great Aunt Sylvia, who is 92 years old. She lives with her son Robert and his family. This was a wonderful visit. Aunt Sylvia was very surprised to see her nephew (my Dad) and she was very happy to finally meet Kevin, her new “boyfriend” added to her list of beau’s.



We spent a week in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with all The Golembiewski’s (Kevin's Pap, Grandee, Uncle Steve, Aunt Dawn, Ryan, Emma, Sara, Aunt Marcia, Uncle Brad, Daniel and Carrie). All eight adults and six kids were together in the six bedroom condo. Unfortunately, Jon fell down the steps of the condo the first day we were there and hurt his shoulder. Fortunately Kevin was walking on his own at this point. Although it did take some hustling to get him past the car and down to the beach, but once we were down there he loved sitting in the sand and having the waves wash up on him…which meant a very sandy bum to wash off. I was very proud watching Kevin walk on the beach but with a whole big ocean there he didn’t spend too much time walking on it. And of course he had to spend time in the swimming pool. It was so enjoyable being with all our family and having Kevin spend time with all his Aunts, Uncles and cousins.





My favorite story from Myrtle Beach is the "watermelon story". Kevin has a very restricted diet due to his food allergies and the nutrition standards set at The Institutes. Watermelon has a high glycemic index which raises blood sugar. So this is considered a food that we are to avoid. In the past, Kevin has had a few watermelon pieces in a fruit salad, but never too much. Well one night we went out to dinner at a seafood buffet. We of course brought Kevin's own food but after he finished and we were all still eating Jon gave Kevin a slice of watermelon. We figured we were on vacation and he could deviate from his diet a little. But then a cousin brought him some watermelon and then an uncle brought him some watermelon. In the end I think he ate three slices of watermelon. After we were done eating we ended up in a kids play area that the restaurant had which had funny mirrors. Kevin absolutely loved this! He went back and forth between the two mirrors walking away and coming back it was really funny. But then it got funnier...we got back to our condo and Kevin went to bed that night. When we went to bed he woke up and continued to stay awake the entire night. His legs were constantly moving (I was sharing the bed with him) and he eventually got out of the bed and went back and forth between Jon & I trying to get us up and to the door. Kevin eventually opened the bedroom door on his own (because he was so determined) and began walking the upstairs hall. Kevin walked back and forth all night. My sister, Marcia heard us and got up with us...we were cracking up it was so funny to see Kevin "sugared up". In fact he didn't go to sleep until his nap the next afternoon. We were afraid to give Kevin watermelon the rest of the summer.



After we left Myrtle Beach we stopped in Hudson, North Carolina, this time to visit Jon's Mom's side of the family at the Carroll Family Reunion. Kevin's Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Ron & Aunt Sarah were there along with all Kevin's Southern Great Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. But Kevin mostly enjoyed sitting on Uncle Eddie’s lap and watching the ceiling fans. In the hotel that we stayed in Kevin had a lot of fun walking up and down the hallways and pushing the elevator button.

Shortly after we returned home I began to tear down wallpaper in our two guest bedrooms. We basically “gutted” the two bedrooms and Kevin's bathroom. In addition to painting those rooms we also painted Kevin's bedroom with some help from Jon's parents. We tore up all the carpeting that remained upstairs and put down hardwood flooring. Jon and his Dad put up all new doors and trim. It was a very big project that took all summer long to complete. But it feels so good to have that ole’ wallpaper and carpet out of the house and have bedroom doors that actually close.

The night that I had begun stripping wallpaper, I will never forget, it is the night that Kevin discovered light switches and door knobs. After we put Kevin to bed that night we heard him walking around upstairs and realized that he was not just walking in his bedroom but all over the upstairs. When I came up the steps every light was on and every door was open. Kevin kept flicking the light switches off and on continuously. It must have looked like SOS signals from outside the house. It was getting late (after 9 pm) and Jon had to run to the store to get a child-proof doorknob cover to put on the inside of Kevin's room so that he could not get out and keep flicking lights and finally go to sleep.



I was very excited to get to celebrate July 4th this summer. We got to spend the evening at Blossom Music Center. We took a picnic dinner, listened to patriotic music, and watched fireworks afterwards. I was very impressed that Kevin was able to stay awake and that he was not scarred of the noise from the fireworks. I loved snuggling on the blankets with “my boys”.



We made two trips to Middletown this summer. One trip was for my sister Marcia’s birthday and one for the Twins birthday. It made me very happy that we were able to be there to celebrate their birthdays. During our first trip in July, I left after a couple days to return home and help Jon get some more work done on the house. And Kevin got to spend time with his Grandee & Pap all by himself along with all his cousins and Aunts & Uncles too. I heard that they went to the Cincinnati Zoo while he was there. They also went swimming at Bob & Terrie’s pool and played in Grandee and Pap’s fountain in the front yard.

On our second trip to Middletown in August we celebrated the Twins 2nd birthday with a bounce house from all of us. It made me very happy to see Kevin having fun in the bounce house with his cousins bouncing around.





Kevin also got to spend time with his Grandma & Grandpa Hudak at their house in Painesville. I was very glad he was able to have alone time with them as well, especially when it was not safe for him to be at our house during the upstairs renovations. Kevin's Grandma was so nice to fill up a pool for him in their backyard…she even put warm water in for him. They liked taking Kevin for car rides and he even got to ride in their truck.





The Bedell Family invited us up to their cabin on Johnson’s Island (Lake Erie) in July. We got to go to the beach and Mr. Bedell took us for a ride on Lake Erie in his boat, but Kevin was so tired that he fell asleep on the floor of the boat. It was so nice spending time with friends and Kevin loves hanging out with the Bedell kids.



Jon & I wanted to have a little honeymoon of their own after getting most of the work done on the house. So Kevin got to take another trip to Painesville while we went to New York’s Lake Chautauqua. We stopped at wineries, ate some good food, had picnics, and even rented a boat one day on the lake (where Jon & I got very burnt). When we returned to pick Kevin up he gave us the best welcome back greeting ever. He was very happy to see us and we were very happy to see him!



Believe it or not Kevin did spend some time at home during the summer. We got to go to the playgrounds where he was able to climb up the steps to go down the slide. I was very proud to see him so independent on the playground. We even caught a goldfish in the swimming pool at the park to keep. We went to Waterworks Park to swim. We went with our neighbor Karen for a pontoon boat ride on the Cuyahoga River. But mostly Kevin enjoyed going for car rides around town and exploring new places especially if there was a shopping cart. But my favorite was probably the evening we took Kevin to the mall and you walked all over. I especially enjoyed just sitting on the porch with Kevin and visiting with our neighbors and friends.






Just as our Honeymoon was coming to an end Kevin's passport was delivered to the house. So we decided that he would go and get his first stamp in his passport with Jon and his parents in Niagara Falls, Canada for a day trip. I took that opportunity to have a day alone to clean the house now that the upstairs renovations were complete and to get our house back in order.

Our last weekend on our Honeymoon was Labor Day Weekend and what better way to spend it than having my sister Marcia's family come visit us. We went to the Kiddie Park where Kevin and the Twins got to ride a roller coaster and Carousel. Unfortunately, we had to take Kevin off the boat ride after he kept putting his hands in the water for safety reasons. From there we had a picnic lunch in Cleveland and watched some of the planes coming in and out of the Cleveland Air Show. Everyone got scared when a really loud F-15 flew by. But we did get to see some spectacular planes. It was a very enjoyable weekend and we were happy to have them come to our house and stay in our new guest rooms.



We are especially proud of the new skills Kevin developed this summer. Kevin began walking up steps (with a hand rail on the right), and sometimes down. But he is always independent getting himself up and down steps either on his feet, backwards, or on his bum. I was getting frustrated when Kevin wouldn’t pick up food with his fingers to eat. So I offered him the spoon instead and he began eating from the spoon like a champ. And not long afterwards he decided it was okay to pick up fruit and eat it with his fingers. I’ll never forget the day Kevin & I were standing at the sink together while I was washing strawberries and Kevin picked one up and began eating it and then another and another. This was the first time he ever ate food without it being given to him. Kevin also enjoyed drinking green smoothies from a cup all by himself.







At the beginning of the summer I had a difficult time adjusting to being home with Kevin and not constantly doing something with him. But I adjusted and soon discovered it was good to give him some freedom to discover things on his own. After being on the program for three years there was a lot that we wanted to do during our time off. I especially enjoyed spending so much time with our families and a little alone time with your Jon. It was fun getting out of the house with Kevin and going new places. And not having to live by a schedule, timers, and clickers.

Can you believe it was three years ago that we took Kevin to the healing service with Dr. Issam Nemeh and his wife Cathy? This summer we received a phone call from “Trapper Jack” a local radio host, who is a friend of Dr. Nemeh’s. He heard about us through a gentleman at our church who was inspired by Kevin to see Dr. Nemeh himself. After talking with Trapper Jack and receiving his encouragement to revisit Dr. Nemeh we made an appointment. We saw Dr. Nemeh on August 12 at his office in Rocky River. His treatment included LED lights, and vibrations & frequencies, which Kevin loved the most. He put his hands and feet and even his face on it. Afterwards Trapper Jack came over to meet us. He was very generous and paid for our visit with Dr. Nemeh. It was the next day that Kevin began picking up fruit with your fingers and a couple weeks later I began noticing the fingers on Kevin's left hand open and some movement. Very encouraging!

Soon we will be returning to The Institutes on September 12 for our seventh visit. I am looking forward to seeing our friends in Philadelphia so they can see how much Kevin's walking has improved. During the summer I realized how far Kevin has come since we first began The Institutes program three years ago. I am very proud of Kevin for all his hard work and everything he has accomplished. But I have also realized that we still have more work to do on Kevin's pathway to wellness. We want Kevin to have the best life possible. We know he can do it and we will be there every step of the way!

2009

And then the day we had been waiting for, for so long came on February 26, 2009. Kevin began walking a distance of six feet. This happened only three days after completing one mile (100 laps) on the overhead ladder.


It is very clear to me that after attending the 2006 Healing Service with Dr. Nemeh we gained strength through faith. We began receiving glimmers of hope with Kevin gaining weight and finding a doctor to wean him from his seizure medication. But finding Glenn Doman and The Institutes gave us the direction on how to make our hurt child well and the faith that it could happen. Kevin would not be walking without the expert guidance we have received from them.

During our summer honeymoon I realized how far Kevin has come since we first began The Institutes program three years ago. Kevin went from a Mobility Level I only able to move his arms and legs with his only mobility as rolling to now being able to walk. It is much to be proud of for all the hard work Kevin has accomplished. But we have also realized that we still have more work to do on his pathway to wellness.

When we returned for our seventh visit to IAHP in September of 2009, Kevin officially received his WALKING VICTORY. Kevin made excellent improvement in quality and quantity. Overall his growth rate compared to beginning of the program is 213%. This means that when Kevin originally began the program in June of 2006 he was 20 months old and was functioning at the neurological age of a 6 month old. Now Kevin is 59 months (1 month from his 5th birthday) and his neurological age is at a 29 month old.

My Blessings

Knowing that I wanted to be a mother so desperately and possibly receiving this once-in-a-life-time opportunity, I am thankful that God has provided me with the opportunity to have nearly every single moment with Kevin. I feel blessed that God has given me purpose in my life and has given me the most important job in the world, to help Kevin get well. I feel lucky to have the excuse of our program to cut the other things out of our lives and stay home and enjoy spending my time as a mother to Kevin and a wife to Jon. While some days are difficult and challenging, I am reminded of God’s love when Kevin gives me his “healing hug.” God could not have picked a more perfect child to give me to be the mother of.

I remember thinking the first time we went to The Institutes that our visit would be worth it if they could just help us to get Kevin eating well, I would be happy with that. That happened within a month after our first visit. Then I wanted to successfully wean Kevin from his seizure medications without having seizures. When that happened I was thrilled but wanted more. I wanted to see the physical dream of crawling to creeping to walking. I am ecstatic that Kevin has achieved all these dreams and more but it wasn’t long after he began walking that I thought…wouldn’t it be great if Kevin could communicate to us by talking. The Institutes has been treating hurt kids for more than 50 years and they know and anticipate everything there is to know. In fact they even talked about this “wanting more” in our first week of lectures. So we will continue to work hard and follow the superb direction that we receive from our friends at The Institutes.

Glenn Doman begins his lectures by asking the parents “Are you surviving?” and when we respond yes he says “Good, that’s the name of the game.” I am also trying to remember that he says we have to look both ways…how far we have to go AND how far we have come.

Our Supporters

It is always very meaningful for me to hear that Kevin inspires others, especially when we receive so much from the people in our community. God has blessed us with so many good people to give us the help we need to complete Kevin’s program on a daily basis. For Kevin’s story could not be written without including the countless number of people that have helped us. The progress Kevin has made would not be possible without their help and the abundance of prayers from family, friends, and strangers, near and far to give us the strength to continue on this intense program for Kevin. I depend on that strength to keep me going every day. There have been some days when I know that it is one of those prayers from some unknown person that was the reason I was able to get through my day.

We have had more than 80 different people in our house as patterners. Some people were here for only a short time and some have been with us since that first summer of 2006. Some people came daily, some people came weekly, and some people walked in our door exactly when I needed them to.

We have had five or more talented people to help us build and create special devices for Kevin’s programs (vests, standers, ladders, etc.).

Through the help of a good friend, we had a village of people (friends and strangers) shopping, cooking, weighing, and pureeing a total of six months worth of food for Kevin.

More than 25 people have given Kevin a wealth of knowledge by making bits of intelligence cards to help his brain grow and improve the function of his brain. Not to mention the other intelligence materials that we also received help for with making homemade books, translating English to Spanish, math, etc.

I will never forget those friends who were willing to help us during the manual respiratory pattering that lasted for an entire hour.

We have also received many generous donations for Kevin’s expenses at The Institutes. Some donations were the small kind, that add up to be very generous. And some were the big kind that can help make a tuition payment; Evertz Technology Services, IHM Knights of Columbus, In His Steps Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Prior. We even received a donation that was anonymous.

We are most thankful to our family who loves and supports us and understands that to make Kevin well we all had to make major changes in our lives. We couldn’t do it without them. My mother-in-law who has kept our house and clothes cleaned. For our Dads who help us with the many projects and devices for Kevin’s programs. And for my Mom for always being there to give me the emotional support when I need it to get through another day or hour.

And of course all the staff at The Institutes who believe in brain-injured children and their parents

2007 & 2008

On our first revisit back to The Institutes in March 2007, Kevin received three victories for Reading, Crawling, and Detoxification. During this visit I remember feeling overwhelmed with emotion during Kevin’s reading evaluation. It is impossible to describe the feeling of watching your two and a half year old, non-verbal, brain-injured child read at a six-year old level and apply his reading with understanding.



During our September 2007 visit Kevin received an Understanding Victory. And at our March 2008 visit he received a Creeping Victory.

Glenn Doman & IAHP

In June of 2006 my Dad brought home a book from the library called What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child by Glenn Doman. My Mom read it in one day and bought two copies to send to us. When we arrived home from our vacation they were waiting for us. My brother and his wife were expecting their third child to be born at this time so Kevin and I left home to visit my family and wait for my niece to be born. I read the book while I was out of town and told Jon to do the same. I instructed him to come home from work and read the book, not to do any yard work only read the book. We both read the book and we would call each other and say “this makes so much sense.” It answered questions that no one else was able to answer, no matter how many doctors and professionals we asked.

After reading Glenn Doman’s book we immediately began patterning on the day that my niece was born, June 19, 2006 and started giving Kevin lots of floor time. We began seeing immediate results with an increase in his left leg bending during play while on his tummy. When Kevin and I returned home we visited our neighbors and told them about this book we had read and that we would need their help patterning. I also made a flyer to pass out at our church picnic that was that next weekend.

On July 9, 2006 we built the inclined floor to begin using with Kevin. And on July 13, 2006, we observed Kevin crawl for the first time! He still preferred to roll while on the floor to get from toy to toy. But if given the right motivation, he would reach and push in a crawling motion.


After reading the book I didn’t feel like it was too late to help Kevin become a well child. And after implementing the treatments described in the book and seeing immediate results, I had hope! We saw more in three months than we had his whole life.

I was excited to learn that Glenn Doman and his staff were still teaching parents how to treat their brain-injured children and I contacted them immediately at The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential in Philadelphia, PA.

In September 2006, my husband and I attended the What to Do About Your Brain-Injured Child Course. This was an intense five-day parent course. I vividly remember Glenn Doman walking into the lecture hall on that first day. This man of 87 years has dedicated his life to helping brain injured kids and every mother had tears running down her cheeks and every father had tears in his eyes.

We were also very fortunate to be accepted into the Aspirant Program and were able to be seen on September 25 and 26, 2006 (the week after our course). This enabled us to bring Kevin to The Institutes for an evaluation by the staff and they designed an individual treatment program for us to follow at home.

Kevin’s functional diagnosis at this visit revealed a severe degree of injury to the brain. The extent of injury was diffuse, affecting all six functions of the brain. The laterality of the injury was bilateral, the right hemisphere more than the left. And the level of injury was the midbrain and some of the cortex. During Kevin’s evaluation we also determined his level of development in June of 2006 before we began patterning and for his first visit in September 2006. In September 2006 Kevin was 23 months old and his neurological age was an 8 month old, growing 2 months in the 3 months time of programming we had accomplished on our own.

The staff at The Institutes, teach parents how to significantly increase our child’s mobility, intelligence, and social growth, and to improve their health, and physical growth. The Institutes believes that parents are the best therapists. We can provide an ideal environment for them at home. We are currently on The Institutes Intensive Treatment Program and we return to Philadelphia every six months to have Kevin re-evaluated and update his treatment program. He has made tremendous progress in his development since following the program.

Holy Spirit Inspired Poem #2

Healing Hug
You gave me a hug to heal me
You wrapped your arm around my neck
And placed your head on my shoulder
Family, friends, and strangers all prayed for us
As Dr. Nemeh and his wife prayed over us
Our Father answered their prayers
By giving me your hug
To heal my mind and spirit

2006

In 2006, Kevin received an official diagnosis of cerebral palsy. At this time he was at the height of seizure medication and delayed developmentally. We were desperately seeking every possible doctor and professional that we could think of to help our son. And we were losing hope.

On February 26, 2006 we attended a Healing Service where Dr. Issam Nemeh and his wife Cathy placed their hands on our son Kevin to receive a healing. It was a very moving experience that renewed our faith and began to give us hope never realizing what was in God’s plan for us.

On February 28, 2006, very early in the morning I received my healing. This is when Kevin gave me my first hug that I had been yearning for, for some time. We attended the healing service because we wanted a healing for any one of the many challenges Kevin had but for me to receive a single hug that strengthened my mind and spirit was my healing.

In March 2006 (one week after the healing) Kevin stopped holding the food in his mouth. He began to swallow and eat his food easily and finally reached twenty pounds. At 12 months of age Kevin weighed 16 pounds. The Monday after the healing service he weighed 18 pounds. He had only gained 2 pounds in 5 months but only two weeks after the healing service he gained another two pounds, weighing in at 20 pounds. It was no longer a chore to feed Kevin. We continued to work with him and had been successful in getting him to slowly gain weight by spoon feeding him thickened formula and baby food. Kevin was also tested for food allergies and the results revealed allergies to milk, eggs, nuts, and wheat.


All the while Kevin’s seizure medication continued to increase. By April 2006 Kevin’s Klonopin medication was at 4.5 mg a day. It was at this time that we sought a third opinion from a Neurologist regarding Kevin’s seizure medications. We were concerned that the Klonopin medication may be causing Kevin to be more floppy and also adding to his feeding and swallowing difficulties. Our new Neurologist agreed and we began weaning Kevin from his Klonopin medication of 4.5 mg a day. As we began decreasing the medication, Kevin’s seizures became less frequent and his last seizure was on August 14, 2006.