1 MIN READ
Oaklyn's Story
An unthinkable decision and where a family goes from there.
By: Heartspring
Melinda’s first decision as a parent was an impossible one. Her son, Oaklyn was born 14 weeks premature—at just one pound and 12 ounces. His early birth led to a 93-day stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. Doctors discover a blood clot in his leg. Because of this discovery, Melinda had to decide whether or not to give her newborn son blood thinners. If she did, he could develop a brain bleed which could kill a baby of Oaklyn’s size or leave lasting damage. Or Melinda could have decided to not give him blood thinners and Oaklyn could lose his leg which would have also likely killed the infant.
Melinda decided to give her son the blood thinners. He didn’t have a brain bleed but years later they did learn he had brain damage that did leave him with developmental delays.
These delays led the family to Heartspring where he gets speech-language, physical and occupational therapy. At three, Oaklyn is creating his own path. In the last few months, he’s had a language explosion and started talking more than he ever has.
“He’s making growth,” Melinda said. “He’s making improvements. I really think Heartspring has a lot to do with that. I think you guys are the reason he’s done extremely well."
He’s also made huge improvements in eating. Oaklyn was always a picky eater so gaining weight was a problem for him. Additionally, Oaklyn also has a strong desire for independence, so he wants to be able to feed himself. However, he has struggled with silverware and doesn’t like the textures of food on his hands which made reaching this independence difficult. The work he’s done at Occupational Therapy has allowed him to build up his fine motor skills so he can feed himself. And he is able to work toward a healthy weight because of it.
“Oaklyn has been working hard to use a spoon or fork during mealtime,” Heartspring Occupational Therapist Emily Anderson said. “OT also helps to development bilateral coordination to promote independence in play and meaningful learning activities.”
Adding to his independence, Oaklyn has also greatly improved his mobility and gross motor skills. He is now able to go up and down stairs and improve his balance overall.
However, Oaklyn’s story is far from over. He will continue to grow and become more independent through his will, the support of his family and the support from Heartspring.
