During the first years after her accident, Joanna had been in and out of four different hospitals and rehabilitation centers. In the never-ending quest for answers and help in October of 2007 we found Amy Eapen. How does one put into words the miracle Amy has brought us? When all others gave up, Amy stood tall. She had a belief in Joanna that her own doctors disallowed.
From the moment that we met Amy she began her magic. Joanna was only able to lay flat on her back and by the end of the evaluation Amy had her turning over, lying on her stomach and sitting up at the edge of her bed. This was a tremendous feeling of hope. It was in those moments I knew Amy would be the one to maximize her potential and give Joanna the greatest chance to achieve many more tasks.
Joanna has greater opportunities with daily repetition of activities. Joanna is able to engage the principles of motor control by making these tasks lifelong achievements. By giving Jonna the opportunity to work with Amy and participate in this program, it givers her the ultimate chance of recovery and reaching her goals.
Amy works together with Joanna’s team to keep her strong and limber and prevent regression. She encourages all who work with Joanna to be the best team for her continual rehabilitation. Amy is always available to assist and takes great pride in her work. She goes above and beyond with a compassionate belief. It is with that belief and commitment that Joanna has advanced to new heights.
With Amy’s enthusiasm and dedication Joanna has achieved so many goals. Joanna can now recognize coordination with movement. She has the ability to learn and process new movements. Today Joanna has the ability to perform stairs with only a close guard, can walk independently with a straight cane and gait belt only for spotting her movements. She can walk barefoot with no braces at all! Joanna’s tone and flexibility has drastically changed giving her more ease and fluidity in her movements. She can sit on the floor and stand up from the floor with no braces just herself with only close guard. She can feed herself with her right arm and turn over in her bed and even sleep on her side if she wants to. She can kneel, bend and squat and even dance! This past summer she took the Circle Line Tour around Manhattan. She left her wheelchair on the bottom deck and climed the stairs, walked across the top deck and sat in the sun with her family!
These major milestones are a direct indication that with good motiviation and hard work all things are obtainable. With Amy in her life, passionately devoted to helping Joanna be the best that she can be…there is no doubt she will continue to make new gains and will always KEEP MOVING FORWARD!
Goals
- independent ambulation
- transition floor to stand
- functional use of right side