Christine Egan Physical Therapy
Christine’s Pediatric Physical Therapy Blog
Audrey: It’s Not Where You Start…It’s Where You Finish
Sheila Tuck’s confidence in her daughter, Audrey, did not fully solidify until she began Kindergarten. Sheila had specifically asked the physical education teacher to keep a close watch on Audrey. After all, her daughter had only been walking upright for about three years, and was still wearing her orthotic braces to improve her stability. But Sheila’s worrying ceased once she received a call from the PE teacher, saying he noticed nothing wrong with Audrey.
“That’s when I realized, ‘Oh, this is great. She’s really on par with her peers,’” Sheila said.
As a newborn Audrey seemed fine to Sheila. But as Audrey grew, her mobility lagged behind her physical development. At ten months old, she could not push herself off the floor, let alone crawl around. Her lack of motor skills prompted Audrey’s pediatrician to test for a genetic explanation of Audrey’s condition. Sheila took her daughter to numerous doctors around the Bay Area, describing one particular visit to a neurologist in San Francisco as heart-wrenching.
“It was definitely a really hard time not knowing what was wrong,” Sheila said. “And to do things like hold your kid down for a body x-ray — when she wasn’t even a year old.” Sheila said, “few parents anticipate such situations…stuff that you’d never think you’re going to have to go through.”
Audrey was diagnosed with Benign Congenital Hypotonia, characterized by weak muscle tone from her head to her toes. This provided clarity for Sheila that her daughter’s condition was strictly physical, and not inherited. Still, she was apprehensive about her daughter’s future.
“After she was diagnosed, they told me she would most likely walk at some point,” Sheila said, “but until it actually happens you don’t know for sure.”
Concerned and motivated, Sheila took action right away. Soon after Audrey’s diagnosis she was referred to physical therapist, Christine Egan MPH, PT C/NDT for appointments twice or three times a week. Taking Audrey to therapy completely changed Audrey’s trajectory. Shelia recalls Audrey was fitted with custom orthotics and when she was ready, a miniature walker. Gradually, Audrey built up her strength through Christine’s exercises and specific activities.
Christine explained that children with hypotonia or low muscle tone struggle to sustain postures versus gravity because of muscle weakness and joint hypermobility. Infants with low muscle tone also avoid prone propping, are often unable to roll, and lack transitional movement skills.
“Babies are very smart: if they cannot create a movement with a ‘typical pattern’ they will compensate with alternate movement patterns,” Christine said. “The problem is that these compensations hinder their motor development. Babies need to learn basic movements correctly, otherwise they may not advance to more refined motor skills. We have seen many children like Audrey in our practice. For us, it is a common diagnosis.”
“Christine was a god-send. She just got us through so much,” Sheila said.
“It was a process,” Sheila said of Audrey’s learning to walk. “It wasn’t like one day she took steps. Unlike other kids who typically walk around the age of one, it took Audrey until the age two to walk on her own.”
Sheila sometimes forgets about her daughter’s early, uncertain years. Audrey, now a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Washington, played lacrosse and volleyball through high school and remains active and enthusiastic.
“To look at her today, you would never know that she required this type of intervention,” Sheila said of Audrey’s current well-being.
More than anything, Sheila is thankful for the hard work of all the medical professionals who helped Audrey get to where she is today — especially Christine’s focused physical therapy.
“Audrey remembers Christine’s studio as a happy place with toys, balls and trampolines. She really enjoyed it right from the start.” Sheila said. “It was almost like a miracle. If it hadn’t been for Christine’s guidance and support I have no idea how long it would have taken Audrey to be physically able to do all these things.”
