It was a scary moment for Jayce and his family when, earlier this year, Jayce fell off of his bed and was found unconscious. Jayce had a history of seizures and, upon arrival to the hospital, doctors discovered that he had a brain bleed.

“We went to the hospital, did a CT scan, and found that he had bleeding in the brain and bleeding in the eyes,” shared Ashley, Jayce’s mom. After being airlifted from Indiana to a hospital in Chicago and undergoing several more tests, doctors confirmed the bleeding in the left hemisphere of his brain, causing weakness on the right side of his body. “Because of this weakness, he wasn’t able to stand on his own, he wasn’t able to sit up on his own, and he developed hand tremors,” explained Ashley.

After Jayce was stabilized, he came to La Rabida to undergo inpatient rehabilitative therapy.

At just two a half years old, Jayce was walking and talking like the average toddler. That development then came to a halt. Jayce’s care team at La Rabida was tasked with helping him regain the skills he had lost while also putting him on a path to reach his future development goals. In the month and a half that Jayce was aboard the S.S. La Rabida, he made amazing progress.

“After the incident, he really had no mobility at all. Now Jayce is walking again. He is now able to raise his arms. He has improved tremendously,” said Ashley.

From staff to fellow patients, Jayce developed a number of relationships while at La Rabida. “Jayce made a friend named Junior. They were neighbors. We all called them the two Js. That was Jayce’s first experience being around another kid that was his same age. It was really special,” shared Ashley.

Jayce was discharged earlier this month and has progressed by leaps and bounds since he first arrived.

“With the help of La Rabida, he’s now able to do some of the things he was able to do before. We still have some work to do, but I am so proud of where he is. I can’t thank La Rabida enough for their help. I appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that they put towards my child.”

This story was featured in the April 2021 issue of eCurrents. Read the full issue here.