The Dream Team

Raising Nathan and offering the best that we can, really does, take a village. And after years of searching we’ve found our village. A wonderful village. In fact the most amazing village. The people in our village are super stars. The best in their fields. Kind. Loving. Gentle. They see potential in Nathan. They do their best to support him. Nathan is doing well because of all of them.

If any of you are reading this blog…Thank You. You guys are all AMAZING. We are so grateful for how you’ve helped Nathan.

Here is Nathan’s Dream Team:

Martha – home therapies. Nanny McPhee falls short next to Martha. She is a wonderful caretaker and therapist for our Nathan. She keeps him nourished and well fed. She prays for him. She believes in him. She loves him to pieces. She puts his well being first. She is in charge of his ABR, laser, and home feldenkrais program.

Belinda – his teacher. The most amazing teacher we could’ve found. She works so hard to help Nathan. Her persistence got him to where he is now walking in his gait trainer. She is working so hard on his physical and cognitive development.

Tom – Rolfing. has helped to release much of his spasticity and has helped improve his structure. Has kept his hips from degenerating and has also helped him improve his posture.

Azriel – Medek. Azriel is the newest member of our time and we are most grateful to have him. He is the most amazing PT/Medek therapist I’ve ever met. He is kind, gentle, strong, and has the biggest heart. A truly gifted therapist, and oh how I wish we’d met him sooner.

Leonid – ABR. Leonid is the genius behind ABR. He has been helping and guiding us to help improve Nathan’s head control. ABR has helped to strengthen Nathan’s core and to improve his structure. I asked Leonid if he’d be willing to take the “head control” challenge – could his therapy improve Nathan’s head control. He has such strong belief in the success of his therapy that he said YES. And he was right. It has. Nathan’s head control is so much better. Leonid is truly amazing at structural integration and I believe the very best in the world when it comes to this area.

Kathie – Feldenkrais. Nathan loves Kathie, she plays with him and teaches him ways of using his body and moving.

Cheryl/Eileen – Felkenkrais intensives. Very experienced Feldenkrais practitioners that help Nathan with movement and muscle tone.

Ronna – Aug Comm. Has made communication fun for Nathan and has been helping him find ways of communicating with us through various means.

Natalia – Music therapy. Nathan LOVES playing the guitar and singing with Natalia, and really looks forward to his time with her.

Becky – Horse Therapy. Nathan’s been riding with Mrs. Becky since he was a year old. He lights up as soon as he sees her and just loves to ride his horse. This week will be his first SOLO RIDE on a horse!

Nikki – Speech therapy. Nikki worked with Nathan when he was younger and will soon be rejoining Nathan’s team. She is a supremely kind and experienced speech therapist who really believes in Nathan’s potential.

Nathalie – OT. Nathalie also worked with Nathan when he was younger and will soon be rejoining Nathan’s team.

Dr. Kenny – Immune support. Dr. Kenny really changed Nathan’s health and helped us identify his allergies and bring him to a point of health. She’s also helped us make decisions about his therapies and treatments. We owe Dr. Kenny Nathan’s supreme good health and our shift towards alternative medicine.

Dr. Blumenthal – Reflex integration & DAN. Dr. Blu has been working on integrating Nathan’s infant reflexes, as well as giving him supplements to improve his digestion and helping us with Nathan’s diet and nutrition.

Bonnie – Cold Laser reflex integration. We’ve been following Bonnie’s cold laser program for a few months and the laser has really helped improve Nathan’s muscle tone as well as overall development.

Dr. Osval – G-therapy. Nathan uses G-therapy for overall brain development.

Pediatrician – Nathan’s pediatrician, who is fully onboard with us after the issues we had, is an absolutely wonderful doctor who can always diagnose Nathan and is always helping us find ways of keeping him healthy.

Kathleen – NAET & acupuncture. This is a new treatment we are trying which is supposed to completely eliminate food allergies. Kathleen seems like a very knowledgeable person and we are interested to see how this program works.

Dr Fitzpatrick – chiropractor. Dr. Fitz uses an impulse adjuster on Nathan’s back to help maintain his structural alignment and to prevent scoliosis.

Nkem – Homeopathy. Also new to our team, Nkem has made Nathan a constitutional homeopathic remedy. We are also on the early stages of this treatment and will report on results.

Jason – Orthotist. Jason casted Nathan for his AFO’s, made his swash brace and his HART walker. Another truly gifted, kind soul, and the best in his profession if you ask me. The braces he made for Nathan are PERFECT.

Dr Kay – Orthopedist. Dr Kay is well known in his field and has given us good advice and support when it comes to Nathan’s orthopedic (hip and foot) problems.

Dr Krieger – neurosurgeon. Has kept an eye on Nathan’s shunt.

Some of these people Nathan sees every day, others every few weeks, others every few months. Others work with us remotely to help Nathan. But it’s taken us 4.5 years and experimenting with MANY MANY people in health care to find this team. Nathan’s dream team. The people helping our boy to be the best Nathan he can possibly be.