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Stella Dockham: A big bright world of possibility
The Dockham family loves being together outdoors - especially trips to the park. Stella and her twin sister, Uma are smiley, active two-year-olds. Parents Mike and Nicole treasure their daughters "Like any siblings they love each other and play together," Nicole laughs.
Stella, according to her mom, "absolutely loves music and is always dancing." Along with traditional favorites like Itsy Bitsy Spider and Wheels on the Bus best sung by mom, Stella loves the song Royals by Lorde. "She just giggles and dances when she hears that song!"
When Stella was just seven months, Mike and Nicole had some concerns regarding Stella's vision. An MRI showed Stella had some brain abnormalities. "We were blindsided by the diagnosis. We were told that Stella might never walk or talk. We had no idea what to expect." Her parents took her to Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute to address Stella's motor delay and to help her learn important developmental motor skills. "The very first time we came to Courage Kenny, our therapist gave us hope. We knew this was the best place to be."
"The Early Childhood Family Center is now our second home," says Nicole. They visit three times a week and participate in physical, occupational and speech therapies. When Stella walks through the doors, she lights up and has a huge smile on her face. "We especially love her therapy sessions because the therapists include her sister into her therapy which makes it fun."
Does therapy help? "Stella began crawling at 15 months," reports her mom proudly. "We were so excited for her. Once she was crawling, her world opened up and we saw lots of growth and changes."
Thanks to therapy, Stella's world of possibility is big and bright. "We would like her to continue to make progress - whatever that means for her. As long as she is happy, it's good for us."
Stella, according to her mom, "absolutely loves music and is always dancing." Along with traditional favorites like Itsy Bitsy Spider and Wheels on the Bus best sung by mom, Stella loves the song Royals by Lorde. "She just giggles and dances when she hears that song!"
When Stella was just seven months, Mike and Nicole had some concerns regarding Stella's vision. An MRI showed Stella had some brain abnormalities. "We were blindsided by the diagnosis. We were told that Stella might never walk or talk. We had no idea what to expect." Her parents took her to Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute to address Stella's motor delay and to help her learn important developmental motor skills. "The very first time we came to Courage Kenny, our therapist gave us hope. We knew this was the best place to be."
"The Early Childhood Family Center is now our second home," says Nicole. They visit three times a week and participate in physical, occupational and speech therapies. When Stella walks through the doors, she lights up and has a huge smile on her face. "We especially love her therapy sessions because the therapists include her sister into her therapy which makes it fun."
Does therapy help? "Stella began crawling at 15 months," reports her mom proudly. "We were so excited for her. Once she was crawling, her world opened up and we saw lots of growth and changes."
Thanks to therapy, Stella's world of possibility is big and bright. "We would like her to continue to make progress - whatever that means for her. As long as she is happy, it's good for us."
