“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” —Eleanor Roosevelt
Charming, kind, assertive, determined with a great sense of humour were words used to describe this 3-year-old as he entered the preschool room at his daycare. Nathan had been part of this childcare family since he was just over a year old and had a wonderful relationship with his peers and educators.
On November 1st, 2022, Nathan was feeling tired and saying his body hurt. The educators took his temperature, and it was normal, so they gave him extra snuggles and observed his symptoms. After a short time, they made the decision to call home as this was not his normal cheerful, active self. No one could predict the events follow. Nathan went to a local hospital and then was transferred to Sick Kids in Toronto where they diagnosed him with meningoencephalitis. He became very sick very quickly. As a result of the brain damage the left side of his body, particularly his lower left leg was affected, and Nathan was not able to walk.
He spent the next few months at Sick Kids Hospital followed by months of therapy at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. The childcare missed him and found ways to stay in touch. His peers would facetime him or send videos of his favourite songs and stories to keep his spirits high and let him know they all wished him a speedy recovery. When he finally was ready to come home his family put him right back in the childcare; the place he was known and loved and his family felt safe sending him. Nathan was in a wheelchair, had low muscle tone from his time in the hospital bed, was on anti-seizure medication and entered care with a list of therapy goals. He was able to sit by himself surrounded by pillows for up to 10 minutes and he had limited movement with his left arm and hand. The childcare reached out to our Early Learning Resource Program to ensure they were prepared for a successful return. We had a meeting with doctors and therapists about what support he would need. Nathan received enhanced funding from the Early Learning program to allow another staff member to be in the classroom to support his needs. His peers were so excited to have him back. They asked lots of questions about his equipment. The preschoolers jumped at the chance to pick up toys that were in his path, get something he could not reach in his chair and do group stretches that encouraged Nathans to reach his goals. Nathan was not a huge fan of his walker; it was too slow for him, but he would challenge a peer to race down the halls when he needed to use it. He gained much of his muscle back through the power of play. Within the first couple of weeks back in childcare he had increased his sitting time to 45-60 minutes and was using his left arm more often during play, songs and games. His progress amazed us all.
I remember asking a therapist if his injury was permanent. Is the end goal for him to use his walker independently or is there a chance he will walk again? The therapist replied, “I’m not sure anyone knows at this point, the damage is severe”. A few weeks later I had a meeting with Nathan’s mom to create the goals for his individual service plan. When I asked mom what her one-year goal would be for Nathan she said, “I want him to walk on his own”. I hesitated for a split second before realizing how much that positive energy had done for her son. She had watched her little child put up such a big fight the last 6 months and he had already accomplished so many goals and milestones and he did that in part because of the love, support and positive energy all around him. Nathan’s family believed that his hard work would produce great results and never allowed him to think differently.
Nathan spent his Junior Kindergarten year at the childcare, he had missed out on months of childhood being in the hospital and the family wasn’t ready for another change. I am happy and so proud to report that he is starting school this September and will be walking through the front doors independently with only an ankle brace. Nathan is such an inspiration to all of us and we wish him the very best at carving his own path on his new adventure.
