Our Daughter Has Cerebral Palsy

March 2, 2015 

 

Richard and Jenine Merritt’s second pregnancy occurred pretty much like her first one with their son Jack, fairly easy except for the occasional twinge and discomfort. At the hospital when Mia was born, they happily counted ten fingers and ten toes on her perfect cherubic body. At home, Mia, although small, seemed to be doing fine, except she was a little slow in her development.  The doctors who examined her couldn’t find anything wrong, and when Mia was one year old, they thought physical therapy might help her progress. It wasn’t until five months later that she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, an incurable neurological condition that affects four out of every thousand babies born in the United States.