Kennedy Krieger Institute

PURSUING ALL THAT’S POSSIBLE

Developmental neurologist Dr. Joanna Burton will never forget that day, five years ago, when she received an urgent phone call from the mother of one of her patients at Kennedy Krieger Institute.

Daniel, then three, was no longer experiencing near constant seizures, said his mom, Dr. Chani Simhi.

Daniel was born with a rare disorder affecting systems and organs throughout his body. He also had seizures, delaying his development. For the first few years of Daniel’s life, he was mostly nonverbal and had trouble moving the left side of his body. But with the seizures diminished, Daniel had an opportunity.

“This was an incredible window for him to finally access learning and his environment,” says developmental neuropsychologist Dr. Gwendolyn Gerner.

Dr. Burton made some calls, and within 10 days, Daniel was enrolled at the Institute’s neurorehabilitation day hospital, where for six weeks, he had two hours of physical, occupational, and speech therapies every weekday.

GIVING DANIEL THE WORLD

Now eight, Daniel has continued his therapies, making incredible progress. He’s running, swimming, and speaking in three languages—English, Spanish, and Hebrew. He cracks jokes, loves playing with his sisters, and enjoys going to school.

“He’s super social, loves talking, loves playing basketball and with toy cars, and is super, super loving,” his mom says.

Daniel’s parents wondered if he would ever talk. “But he is talking, and he’s very expressive, and he’s making great, great strides,” she adds. “I’m hopeful that when he’s 13, he’ll be able to have a bar mitzvah. We were so worried he might not be able to have opportunities like that.”

“Having patients like Daniel is incredibly humbling,” Dr. Gerner adds, “because you realize it’s a combination of the whole team coming together, plus Daniel’s persistence and determination, that’s made all the difference.”