Eloise WILL walk one day

Did we ever have a doubt she’d walk? Yes.

When you have a kid like Eloise who has a rare genetic condition with only a handful of similar cases like her around the world, it’s hard to know what to expect. We knew, based on those few other kids, that walking was a possibility for her future, but not a guarantee.

After Eloise’s first seizure at 10 months old, her gross motor development slowed drastically and even reversed a few times. Not only was Eloise hysterically crying during her infrequent physiotherapy (PT) sessions, but we were barely surviving from crisis to crisis. We dreamed of a PT intensive someday, but life seemed to make it impossible.

Finally, summer 2024 Eloise was finally stable enough at 3.5 years old. But our first PT intensive here in Estonia ended after only a few days as both we and the program directors realized it wasn’t a good fit for Eloise. Though there were only 5 PT sessions per week, the program directors thought even this was too much for tiny Eloise. We disagreed. It felt like far too little. 

By that summer it was clear, too, that Eloise was ready to work. On her own, hundreds of times per day she was practicing a new skill, getting into a sitting position from lying down. Within weeks, she mastered it. But she needed more. She *wanted* more.

So we returned home to Tallinn and I decided if she couldn’t do an intensive in Estonia, we’d try to make her whole life intensive.

Eloise was already seeing Liise from Liikuv Laps twice a week at our home and, when she wasn’t sick, going once to Fertilitas. But Eloise was sick so often that we needed to find someone else to help us at home so she could still train through illnesses without infecting other kids.

Thankfully, with Lastefond’s support, we were lucky to get 1-2 home visits per week from Kadi Rahu, who had basic DMI training. Which meant by December 2024 we were on our way to making Eloise’s life a mini PT intensive!

By that time, Liza from Kinetic Therapy ES made our dream come true and agreed to come all the way from Spain to Estonia to do a real 6-day DMI intensive with 6 kids three times per year. So in January 2025, with the first intensive, Liza and Daniel showed us that Eloise was far more capable than we realized. Now, nearly a year later, Eloise just completed her third 6-day intensive with Liza and Daniel.

I am in awe.

When Eloise really started working on her own last summer, I knew she needed even more PT, but I still didn’t know if walking was in her future. Now, though, as I watched her working with Liza and Daniel this past week, it was very clear. This kid WILL walk someday.

https://youtube.com/shorts/H_AO6sluheQ?si=Xj1eH99eTzjG8Kv8

It just takes a village of support. (And dedicated physiotherapists who work with Eloise 4-5 times per week. And daily time in her stander. And a babysitter and us who do Liza and Daniel’s prescribed DMI exercises at home. And being lucky that we live in a nation that helps us fund it all.)

As long as Eloise keeps doing the work, we will do what we can to empower her.

Cheering her on with you all,

Mallory, Brian, Eloise, K, and Baby G