Rowan is a 14-month-old boy who had a difficult beginning in life. The pregnancy with Rowan was normal and there were no complications. Labor, however, was very long. After over five hours of pushing, the doctor advised a vacuum attempt was the best option. Numerous failed attempts caused Rowan’s heartrate to drop twice, and an emergency c-section was necessary. Rowan was born not breathing and needed to be intubated immediately. Once Rowan was stable enough to breathe on his own, the medical staff noticed that he was having apnea spells. The neonatologist advised it would be best to transfer Rowan to Saint Peter’s University NICU. At just 24 hours old, Rowan left Hunterdon Medical Center for answers.
Once at Saint Peter’s, the staff quickly set Rowan up with a 48- hour video monitoring EEG where they quickly determined that Rowan was suffering from seizures. An MRI showed that Rowan suffered a significant stroke affecting the left middle cerebral artery, ultimately leading to a diagnosis of hemiplegic cerebral palsy. The neurology team did not have promising words for the outlook on Rowan’s life. Rowan would face difficulties with most things that a neurotypical child would not.
After 11 days in the NICU, Rowan was finally stable enough to go home. Life was much more different than first-time parents, Thomas and Dana imagined. Visits at CHOP and Boston Children’s were arranged, and Rowan started therapy with Early Intervention at just 8 weeks old. On average, Rowan receives 5 hours of structured therapy weekly, as well as the ongoing therapy at home with his parents.
Rowan is followed by the stroke clinic at Boston Children’s Hospital. Rowan visits his doctors every 3-4 months for developmental check-ins. Due to the size of Rowan’s stroke; he is at greater risk to develop epilepsy at some point in his life.
For children with neurological disabilities, intensive therapy is highly recommended during the first few years of life while neuroplasticity is at its highest. Through repetition, the brain can create new neural pathways, shifting functions from the damaged part of the brain to an undamaged area. Rowan has participated in Dynamic Movement Intervention (DMI). Each intensive block ranges from 1-3 weeks with 2 therapy sessions per day.
Rowan is currently working on achieving many milestones that he’s delayed in like getting into the sitting position on his own, crawling, pulling to stand, walking, etc. While therapy is constant and difficult, Rowan smiles through it all. The next step in Rowan’s journey is stem cell therapy. Stem cells have shown amazing progress for those with neurological conditions.
Rowan has faced many challenges in his short life and will continue to do so. With continued traditional therapy and interventions such as stem cell therapy, we are setting Rowan up for the best chance of facing these challenges head on. We are very grateful to the Shannon Daley Memorial Fund for choosing Rowan as a deserving recipient. Your generosity and support mean so much to us. Thank you!