Published on May 22nd, 2016
Will is 13 years old. He has 2 older brothers Jack (21) and Quinn (18 and also has Epilepsy). By the time he was diagnosed at 9 months old he was having hundreds and hundreds of seizures every day. Most often only having short periods of time where he was not fluttering his eyes or twitching. Will has been on over 18 different medications and many combinations of those. He has been seen and treated by several different Neurologists, and has been on the Ketogenic Diet and Modified Atkins.
In December of 2011 he had a Corpus Callosotomy and for the first time gaining some relief from the seizures. There wasn’t any more eye fluttering and constant twitching, but he continued to have Tonic Clonic and Absence seizures. Will is still taking 5 anti-seizure medications twice every day and continues to have several seizures every week. Will is non-verbal and has Ataxia. He requires constant supervision. Will is a very happy sweet boy with an infectious laugh and smile.
The family was fortunate to receive a few sessions of Horseback Riding Therapy for Will through a family member. Will often has anxiety when presented with new or different activities, sometimes provoking seizure activity. But this was different. When he saw the horse, it was like he knew what to do. He got up onto the platform and with help got right up on the horse. He was excited every time he went to the barn and had no anxiety or refusal to participate. Even though Will only had a few sessions, his family starting to see some changes in him. He seemed more focused after riding and even showed a little improvement in his walking and flexibility.
His parents would have loved to have been able to continue the therapy, but the cost made it challenging. There are several Horse Therapy facilities nearer their home that could greatly benefit Will. Through Peace Fund donations, Will was provided with 24 lessons.
