Adele and Wayne eagerly anticipated welcoming their second daughter, Lily, into the world. But when Adele went into labor, she experienced complications that left Lily without oxygen until she was delivered by emergency Caesarian section half an hour later.
Though doctors resuscitated Lily, the lack of oxygen in utero injured her brain. As an infant, she was diagnosed with a severe form of cerebral palsy. The condition causes abnormally tight muscle tone, making movement more difficult for Lily than it is for other children her age. Lily’s cerebral palsy also impacts her eyesight and her ability to speak.
Today, 4-year-old Lily sees doctors at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. She receives regular injections of botulinum toxin, which — along with rehabilitation therapy — helps relax her muscles. She had muscle-lengthening surgery at age 2, and she’ll need additional orthopaedic surgeries as she continues to grow.
Incredible Progress
Adele says that Lily has made significant progress since she began coming to Gillette, advancements she attributes to Marshall Taniguchi, M.D., Lily’s physical medicine and rehabilitation physician. “Before Gillette, movement was difficult — even painful — for Lily,” says Adele. “Now she rolls around and roughhouses with her sister just like any other toddler.”
Her parents describe Lily as a “happy girl” who communicates with sounds, smiles and frowns and who idolizes her big sister, Kaeli. Recently Lily has developed an interest in push-button toys. The skills she’s learning might someday transfer to an augmentative communication (AAC) device, which could help with speech.
Help in Tough Times
Lily stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit for 3 months after her birth, battling seizures, pneumonia and other life-threatening issues. During that time, KS95 became a powerful emotional support for the family. “We listened to the Moon & Staci show on the way home from the hospital every day,” says Wayne. “No matter how scared we were for our little girl, we’d be laughing by the time we got home.”
The Harris family continues their connection to KS95 by raising money for the KS95 for Kids® Change for Kids® program, a change collection program that supports the KS95 for Kids Radiothon. In fact, Kaeli collected more than $2,500 in change last year, the second-highest fundraising total for the entire Change for Kids program. “At Gillette, we know Lily’s found the place where she can reach her fullest potential,” says Adele. “It’s important that we give back to Gillette, because they have given us so much.”
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