Maddie is dancing through life
When Maddie dances down the hospital’s halls everyone knows her name and that’s because she’s a rock star.
Maddie is thirteen and “she’s always singing and dancing” especially to her favourite musicals: Hairspray, Grease and Mamma Mia! Outside of her theatrics she loves to play with her dog Maisie and challenge her brother Mac to a game of Snakes and Ladders.
Maddie became a client of Holland Bloorview shortly after she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) at eighteen months. “And that place is incredible,” recalls her mom Heather.
When it was time to enroll in kindergarten Maddie transitioned into the Bloorview School Authority (BSA).* “We got totally spoiled at Bloorview with all the services that she was getting. I was set ready to force her through grade 12,” shared Heather, who now works at the school as an educational assistant.
The BSA is where Maddie met her best friends. “Kevin, Tianna, Carson, Kirby,” she proudly listed while noting that the group remain classmates at their new school. “This group of kids, five kids, we're all still friends.We’ve been friends since Kindergarten,” chimed in Heather.
Transitioning out of the BSA was is no simple task. Maddie’s mom Heather remembers being in “full panic” just thinking about it. “I don't think she would have done well in a typical school with the integrated programs.” With the help of a liaison from the BSA, Maddie was able to graduate into a special education school alongside her same friends.
In addition to educational services, Maddie is a big fan of Holland Bloorview. “Thank you Jamie, thank you Kristen, thank you Dr. Orsino,” Maddie talks about the hospital with the biggest smile on her face.
Over the years she has participated in numerous programs and services, her favourite being Fit & Flex, a program that makes physical therapy fun, “I do my exercises. I do my laps. Dancing.” She especially loves when her therapists play her favourite song Jump by Van Halen!
Heather says that Maddie’s CP means that many developmental milestones happen at a later stage and are “humongous” celebrations. Maddie took her first steps at Holland Bloorview “and people still talk about it,” she proudly shared.
“She was seven. It was grade one. It was a fashion show. And she walked across the gym unassisted without her walker. And I couldn't even videotape it because I was in tears. Like, seriously, everybody was in tears.”
Heather said that when they first received Maddie’s diagnosis they were worried about what it meant for her future. Knowing nothing about CP, all she could think of was what she has seen in movies, but Maddie’s reality is far from fictional portrayals.
"You're going to see magic happen when you're at Holland Bloorview.” Heather wants other parents to know, “You're going to see things happen. Your child is going to thrive. So, keep the wonder in your eyes, keep watching your child. Having a disability, it's not a bad thing. It's a different thing.”
*The Bloorview School Authority is a Section 68 School for children up to grade one, located on site at Holland Bloorview.
