“As a mom, I had to have trust in my daughter and in her care team that she would gain enough strength to be independent again, and here she is today, a true fighter. She did it,” said Lauren.
On December 18, 2019, two and a half year-old Amelia Pryor woke up complaining of leg pain. The next day, Amelia’s pain progressively worsened, and her mother, Lauren, and father, Jeff, noticed she was limiting her movement by only walking on her toes. The following night, Amelia woke up from her sleep in excruciating pain, and her parents rushed their daughter to the nearest emergency room.
After several visits from physicians and specialists, countless tests and scans; Amelia was diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome and came to Children’s Specialized Hospital Inpatient facility in New Brunswick for rehabilitation and therapy following treatment. Upon arrival, Amelia was paralyzed from her waist down.
Initially, physicians who treated Amelia predicted a 6-8-month recovery before she would gain enough strength to walk again; but after just five days of therapy at Children’s Specialized Hospital, Amelia was already sitting unassisted and crawling independently. By the end of her seven-week stay, Amelia walked out of the hospital lobby standing tall and proud.
Over one year after she began rehabilitation, Amelia is walking, running, jumping, and dancing. She completed outpatient physical therapy at Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside and still stays active at home.
“Because of the COVID-19 pandemic we were so torn to send Amelia back to the activities that were keeping her moving,” said Lauren, Amelia’s mom. “But with clearance and reassurance from her doctor, we wanted to keep Amelia as active as possible in a safe way.”
Today, Amelia enjoys dancing, swimming, going to school, and playing with her younger brother. Lauren shared that Amelia even uses many of the skills she learned from therapy at Children’s Specialized Hospital, including going up the stairs to her bedroom unassisted, sometimes still saying, “look mom, I did it!” even months after being home.
“As a mom, I had to have trust in my daughter and in her care team that she would gain enough strength to be independent again, and here she is today, a true fighter. She did it,” said Lauren.
Amelia will still sometimes complain of discomfort in her legs, but through their experience, they learned how to manage in ways that work for them. Lauren also shared that this is something Amelia will face for the rest of her life, and while she may be too young to make her own medical decisions now, they will always advocate for whatever she needs to reach her full potential.
“We count our blessings every day. We are so lucky she recovered so well and so quickly,” said Lauren as she recalled their family’s journey. “I have never truly appreciated the work of medical teams in hospitals like Children’s until I was there living it,” she added. “Forget Disney, CSH is truly the most magical place on Earth.”