Beautiful Rhyanne was born March of 2019. Her birthing was under stress due to exposure to drugs in utero. She spent 9 weeks in the NICU to wean. However, there was a regression when she stopped feeding at just a couple of weeks old, so an MRI was done. The results of the MRI were very telling. They found tiny optic nerves, a small pituitary gland, the missing brain midline, and extra folds in her brain. She was officially diagnosed with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia (ONH), one of the leading causes of childhood blindness, along with Septo Optic Dysplasia, Polymicrogyria (PMG), and later at age 2 yet another diagnosis of left spastic hemiplegia, cerebral palsy.

Rhyanne was placed in foster care after being discharged from the hospital. But as her biological aunt, I took her into my care and later adopted her in November 2020. I immediately enrolled her for early intervention to ensure no time was wasted. She started treatment at UCP, beginning with physical and occupational therapy, and then added feeding therapy because of her unwillingness to eat typical foods due to sensory processing.

The services we received at UCP helped Rhyanne progress from being non-ambulatory to walking with a posterior walker with AFO’s, to taking her first steps independently at age 3! Another of her more significant milestones included her improvement in sensitivity to textures.

As her parent, it warms my heart to see Rhyanne being cared for and loved while at therapy. You can see the passion of these therapists, the work they do is essential for her, and they make sure she is having fun along the way. Even working virtually through a pandemic, no one skipped a beat to ensure that the services continued nor had a loss in progression. Having the resources and knowledge of the UCP therapists has been instrumental in Rhyanne’s growth and advancement. I am hopeful for many more milestones to come!

~ Kim, proud mom of Rhyanne