Sprinting, singing and more with confidence and care from her team CHoR
For 15-year-old Allie Jones, the pandemic helped her heal. Born 13 weeks prematurely, Allie suffered a life-threatening infection soon after birth, which damaged her small intestine and brain. She spent three months in the hospital, undergoing two surgeries on her small intestine and retina.
Before she was a year old, her family relocated to Richmond so Allie could be closer to CHoR’s specialists. She received physical, occupational and speech therapy through Virginia’s early intervention program and then transitioned her therapy to CHoR. Through those services, Allie, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a toddler, learned to walk, first with a walker and then leg braces. She received services from our feeding program and learned sign language to help with communication and an auditory processing disorder. She also gained skills to manage sensory issues and a motor planning disorder that prevented her from interacting with others.
“I knew Allie would need the care of a children’s hospital,” said her mom, Amanda. “CHoR checked off the needs we knew she had and covered a realm of possibilities to include any and every need that popped up.”
Healing at home
Although she enjoyed school, Allie was sick often and received homebound instruction for many years. When the pandemic closed schools and most other outside activities, Allie’s health improved.
“When everything shut down during COVID, we were stuck at home, and Allie stopped getting sick all the time,” recalled Amanda. “That gave her body time to heal, build immunity and get stronger.”
“CHoR told us to expect everything”
Last year, Allie returned to the classroom, where she’s now in eighth grade. Although she didn’t start speaking until she was four, today Allie sings solos in church. As a member of her school’s junior varsity track team, she began running 55-meter races during winter’s indoor track season and ran 100-meter races this spring. Thanks to a training and recovery plan developed with her CHoR team, she’s improving her time at each meet and hopes to run 200-meter races soon.
“Very early on, the NICU team from another state told us not to expect a lot from Allie,” Amanda said. “Our team at CHoR told us to expect everything. What Allie is doing now wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of her team of doctors and therapists at CHoR. Allie is crushing her goals and living out her dreams because they saw Allie as a girl with unlimited potential and not another kid with a diagnosis.”
By Alissa Poole