Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/646815
t m c » p u l s e | m a r c h 2 0 1 6 32 32 It was hard trying to explain to him, 'You actually weren't strong, baby. We did this so that you could get strong.' — SARAH SONIA Darius' Mother Giving the Gift of Gait For those suffering from spasticity conditions, being able to put one foot in front of the other is a life-changing experience B y S h a n l e y C h i e n W hen 8-year-old Darius makes his way down the hallways of Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, the forearm crutches that help support his balance do not impede his speed or hinder his determination even in the slightest. He races down the corridors with the same energy and spirited personal- ity as that of the Energizer Bunny. But Darius is all too familiar with hospitals. He was diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy as a baby and has been in therapy since he was three months old to manage his spasticity, a condition caused by damage to the part of the brain or spinal cord that regulates voluntary movement and is characterized by stiffness or tightness in the muscles that can affect a person's movement and gait. "I knew he had brain damage," said Sarah Sonia, Darius' mother. "But you just can't tell how serious it's going to be, what's it's going to affect, what he'll be capable of—all of that. It was just taking it day by day." By the time Darius was able to walk, therapists arranged for him to utilize a four-wheeled rear walker to help him get around, but it wasn't until one of Darius' in-home therapists recommended it that Sonia looked into a highly specialized surgical procedure called selective dorsal rhizotomy. The procedure entails severing and destroying nerve roots in the spinal cord responsible for faulty neuromuscular conditions to help relieve spasticity symptoms. Darius shows off his karate moves and spars with his mother. He attends the American Society of Karate and recently received his yellow belt.