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Creative therapy, fighting spirit help one child 'rise up'

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Amanda Delisle
  • 50th Space Wing Public Affairs
SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNEWS) --  To watch 13-year-old Erin Pelton ride a horse, you wouldn't think she was any different than any other teenager. Although she looks the same, Erin isn't just riding a horse for fun, she's at a physical therapy appointment aiming herself at her future with grit and determination.

Erin, daughter of Capt. Doug and Rebecca Pelton, 1st Space Operations Squadron here, has dystonic cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects body movement and muscle coordination.

The therapy, commonly called hippotherapy from the Greek word "hippos" or horse, is a treatment that uses the multidimensional movement of a horse to help strengthen and improve muscles and movement dysfunction, according to the American Hippotherapy Association Web site.

Despite her condition, Erin has a strong will and doesn't let anything get in the way of reaching her goals.

"There's nothing that's going to stop Erin," Captain Pelton said. "She doesn't back down from any challenge. Erin's an incredible kid."

Many children who have cerebral palsy are born with it. However, in Erin's case, it was the result of an illness.

In 1994, when Erin was just a baby, she contracted meningitis and a respiratory virus with a very high fever. Erin, who was born in England, had both British and American doctors trying to make her well again. However, Erin's sickness wasn't improving.

On Christmas Eve, Erin's parents put her to bed with them to keep a watchful eye on her. The next morning, Rebecca woke up with an intuition to check her baby. She found Erin's eyes rolled back in her head and her lips blue.

They called for help, but as they watched outside for the ambulance, they saw it take a wrong turn. It took nearly 40 minutes for help to arrive -- 40 minutes that Erin didn't have sufficient oxygen to her brain.

She was rushed to the hospital and remained in intensive care for three days. She spent another 10 days in the hospital.

"We weren't sure if she'd survive, but we knew the rest of her life would be a challenge," Captain Pelton said.

Erin started physical therapy 10 days after she was discharged. She was treated for cerebral palsy, although she wasn't diagnosed right away.

The following years of therapy helped treat her lack of muscle coordination and now flaccid muscles. It also helped Erin walk, overcoming the tendencies of her left foot to roll inward and her right foot to drag.

Erin was resistant to the therapy at first. At age two, she resisted the therapists and bullied them, even making one cry. But Erin's mom and dad saw a fire in their child -- a will to fight.

"God gave her an ornery, strong spirit that she uses to make it," Captain Pelton said.

Erin's parents agree that her stubbornness is what has kept her from quitting and kept her motivated to do more.

"As she grew, Erin couldn't move around like other kids, but she grew to walk and run, maybe not as fast as the other kids, but she could do it," Captain Pelton said.

Erin always wanted to be as fast as her playmates and older brother, Trey, and her personality helped her remain focused on doing the same things they did.

At age four, Erin realized she was different than other kids and began to understand that doing the therapy she was so reluctant to do before, actually helped her feel and perform better and she started cooperating.

Today, Erin has a great relationship with her therapists. She does physical therapy Tuesdays at a local hospital and therapeutic horseback riding Thursdays at the Pikes Peak Therapeutic Riding Center.

Physical therapy helps Erin's balance, core stability, walking and coordination and helps decrease abnormal movements. Although she can see the benefits of this therapy, Erin prefers the added fun of hippotherapy.

Forty-five-minute hippotherapy sessions not only allow Erin to spend time with her newly assigned horse, Flapjack, but it also improves her abilities.

The horse's gait provides variable, rhythmic and repetitive movement. The rider's movements in response to the horse are similar to movement of the pelvis while walking, according to the American Hippotherapy Association Web site.

During the sessions, the therapists implement exercises and games, like throwing a ball back and forth or tossing a bean bag, as well as riding.

Even though Erin is an outstanding young girl, she is sometimes subject to judgment and stares, especially from other kids. But of course, that doesn't get Erin down. She prefers when others ask her what's wrong so she can educate them. When Erin is riding, however, there's no judgment from the horses or the therapists.

"Erin has a great relationship with the horses and they all seem to know that she is kind and sensitive to their needs," said Julie Farnham, a therapeutic riding instructor at the center. "Erin has ridden some of our more challenging horses and I have never seen her show fear or tell me she cannot ride any horse."

Erin's life experiences, trials and challenges haven't made her bitter and angry though. In fact, her parents both claim she is very patient and calm and loves working with other kids and animals, which is her calling, according to her mom and dad.

"Her strong will is engrained in her, and her sickness hasn't taken that away from her," Rebecca said.

Not only does Erin have a good mind-set about her condition and the challenges she has and will face, she also gives back to people in the community. Erin has cut off her long hair and donated it to Locks of Love, an organization that provides hairpieces to children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.

"It was really hard to give my hair away," Erin said. "I was nervous about short hair. But, it was pretty cool."

She volunteers at her church, helping kids in Sunday school. She also helped bag clothes for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Erin has a will to help others, her parents said. They also see her as a future community leader, perhaps helping others in her condition.

"When I get older, I hope that I can help other people ... the hard things they have trouble with," Erin said. "I hope I can share some of my stories that happened to me so I can help people with their problems too."

Kevin Kowalski, Erin's medical physical therapist for the past year and a half, is so impressed with Erin's positive attitude, motivation and community service, that he nominated her as Memorial Hospital's Rising Star, an award given to a patient who has served as an example of courage while dealing with a life-limiting illness. Erin will be recognized in April at a benefit for the Memorial Hospital Foundation in Colorado Springs.

"I'm really happy that the foundation named Erin their Rising Star, but you didn't have to tell me that," Captain Pelton said proudly. "I'm her daddy. I already knew she was a star."

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