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Little Bit Spotlight

Meet Kaelyn - Little Girl = Big Effort!

by Little Bit Volunteer Lisa Holcomb

Kaelyn Drummond entered this world 3 months premature and at an astonishing 1 lb. 15 oz. With the average full term baby weighing in at over 7 lbs., Kaelyn proved to the world she was not going to give up, right from the start. Jason Drummond, Kaelyn’s father, describes his daughter as a hard worker and as someone who has the best attitude he has ever seen. You can hear the proud awe in his voice; Kaelyn is truly a remarkable little girl.

Kaelyn was born with the most common form of cerebral palsy, Spastic Diplegia. Spastic Diplegia represents between 70-80 % of cerebral palsy cases and causes increased tone, or tension, in leg muscles resulting in the stiffness of both legs. Doctors attribute her disability to hypoxia, or decreased oxygen to the brain, during her premature birth.

Kaelyn, along with her also premature twin brother, Ryan, spent the first 3 months of their life at Swedish Hospital. When they finally were able to come home Thanksgiving of ’99, intensive therapy for Kaelyn began immediately and included in-home visits. Kaelyn’s health was so fragile that the family could not leave the confines of their home for over one year, except for hospital visits.

As Kaelyn grew, so did her determination. Either crawling or using a walker to get from place to place, Kaelyn’s trunk strength was weak, at best. She was unable to get up from the floor without using something to pull up on and tended to sit with a slouched back. Kaelyn experienced fatigue at school as she struggled to concentrate not on the teacher’s curriculum, but on keeping her body upright and in her chair. By the end of the day at school, she would essentially melt down in her chair because of her body’s fatigue. This fatigue impacted her ability to learn.

Kaelyn’s parents learned of Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center and thought the benefits of Hippotherapy would greatly help their daughter. Hippotherapy is a physical, occupational, or speech therapy treatment utilizing the movement of a horse. The three dimensional movement pattern created from a horse’s walk stimulates muscles and improves balance. Since there was, and continues to be, such a high demand on the specialized therapy that Little Bit offers, Kaelyn was placed on a waiting list until space was open. While Kaelyn was on the waiting list, she continued getting treatment from Vicky Schwartz, owner of Cascade Children’s Therapy in Mill Creek. Vicky has been a very important & instrumental part of Kaelyn’s improvement and continues to treat Kaelyn weekly through other modes of physical therapy.

More than a year after being placed on the wait list, her chance to ride at Little Bit finally came and Hippotherapy was added to Kaelyn’s weekly therapy schedule. Jason said they could almost immediately tell a difference in Kaelyn’s condition. After only a few months, she experienced so much of an increase in her trunk strength and ability to sit up that she immediately improved at school. Her attention improved and she could keep up with the daily classroom lessons.

About a year ago, Kaelyn underwent a complex surgery at Children’s Hospital of St. Louis, by Dr. T.S. Park, called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomoy (SDR). In this procedure, two vertebras in the lower back are cut open to expose the spinal cord. Doctors then determine which nerves are responsible for the spasticity, or stiffness, in the legs and cut them resulting in a permanent reduction in spasticity. While Kaelyn’s stiffness improved, the surgery revealed underlying weakness of the muscles in her legs.

After Kaelyn’s surgery, she had to start over learning things she had previously been able to do such as roll over, sit up, or even get out of bed. With an intensive schedule of 3-4 therapy sessions a week, one of which was Hippotherapy at Little Bit, her core strength improved and she has experienced an even better quality of life.

In March 2009, Kaelyn completed a year-long small (two patient) pilot research study comparing functional outcomes of treatment with and without Hippotherapy after SDR surgery. Recognizing the current limited resources at Little Bit for research, the individuals were a sample of convenience in conjunction with Cascade Children’s Therapy. The therapy interventions were already part of an established plan of care and the testing was done outside of Little Bit time as Sheridan Remley, DPT, a part time Physical Therapist at Little Bit, donated her time to the study.

When asked what a difference Little Bit has made in Kaelyn’s life, Jason said, “I can’t imagine that she would have progressed as quickly without Little Bit. And I never thought that riding horses would mean an improvement in school, but it has definitely helped her in all aspects of her life, especially with learning.” In addition to her improvement at school, she has seen many improvements with her mobility. Kaelyn can now walk independently without the aid of a walker, get up from the floor without anything to hold onto and is able to bend down to pick things up from the floor without falling. She is even able to ride an adaptive bicycle!

Jason also explained how Kaelyn enjoys her time at Little Bit. She knows all of the horses by name and has an opportunity to visit & pet her favorites. Kaelyn enjoys the fact that she gets to ride a horse every week; it’s something that is special as not all of her friends get to be astride a horse. It’s important to remember, though, that while riding on horseback is a fun and unique opportunity for Little Bit riders, for most of them, it is also hard work. It is more than just the confidence built by riding a 1,200 lb. animal – it is intense exercise and takes effort and a great attitude; something that Kaelyn has possessed since birth.

Between the collective efforts of all therapists, her family’s dedication to her treatment, and Kaelyn’s can-do attitude, this little girl has proved to be quite the little horsewoman. Steve McKenzie, Little Bit Therapy Services Director, thinks that Kaelyn has progressed so well that she has the potential to graduate to Sport Riding and even participate in ParaEquestrian competition, if she so chooses. Perhaps one day we’ll see Kaelyn showing her skills as part of the US Paralympic team?

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