Music, toy trucks and a golden retriever named Buddy. It’s all part of Christopher’s road to recovery
At Holland Bloorview, Christopher and his family accessed a wide range of supports that helped them navigate his acquired brain injury together.
Anytime he sees a guitar, two-year-old Christopher starts to hum, showing a love for music that was discovered in music therapy at Holland Bloorview.
For Christopher’s mom, Lisa, this humming is the sound of progress.
Six months ago, when Lisa went to wake Christopher for daycare, she found him having a seizure. These seizures continued for five days and recurred frequently after that.
It took over a month at SickKids Hospital and several EEGs to find the right medications to manage Christopher’s sudden onset seizure disorder, the cause of which is still undetermined. As a result of his seizures, Christopher has scarring on his brain and experiences right-side weakness. He came to Holland Bloorview as an inpatient in 2024 just before Christmas to start his recovery.
“When he first came to Holland Bloorview he was like a newborn again. He couldn't even hold his head up,” says Lisa.
During his inpatient stay, Christopher worked on regaining his skills in physiotherapy, speech therapy, and of course, music therapy. While progress has been slower than Lisa initially expected, she and her family have learned to celebrate every step on the road to recovery.
“Every time Christopher tried to do something new was exciting, like when he got the stander for the first time, or when he started using the walker. Just the fact that he was moving on to something new, it was like we met a goal and were ready for next step,” Lisa explains.
Joining Christopher every step of the way were his three siblings, ages nine, 14 and 18. During school breaks, they travelled from their home in Orillia to stay at Holland Bloorview in Family Accommodations.
“The accommodations room was a lifesaver in the way that we still got to spend some time together,” recalls Lisa.
Though it can be difficult to be in hospital over Christmas, Lisa appreciated having a space to celebrate the holiday with her family. And later, over the March Break, Christopher got the all-clear to leave the hospital for a day, and went with his siblings to Ripley’s Aquarium, providing a much-need change of pace for the family.
Back at Holland Bloorview, Christopher also had fun in the therapeutic playroom, where he loved playing with toy cars and trucks. For her part, Lisa loved how the therapeutic recreation specialists would help Christopher work towards his therapy goals.
“They would put toys up to try to get his right hand doing things. He was getting therapy while he was there in a way that he didn't really know,” says Lisa.
With Christopher in the therapeutic playroom, Lisa had the time and space to take care of herself, whether going for walks, taking a shower or doing laundry, or connecting with her social worker, Tess.
“Social work was big help,” Lisa adds. “Everything was so new, and I didn't know about funding or the equipment I need and how I'm going to pay for it. Tess really helped with finding all the different supports I could apply for.”
While some supports took the form of social work and financial assistance, others were a little more cuddly. Every Tuesday, Christopher and Lisa would head to pet therapy, where Christopher lit up at the sight of so many dogs. He formed a particular attachment to Buddy, a golden retriever.
“I have a picture of the first time that Christopher met Buddy and he's just kind of laying there. This is when he was pretty new to Holland Bloorview and couldn't move a whole lot,” says Lisa. “And then I have a picture of the last day that he saw Buddy, and Christopher’s sitting up beside him. It's nice to see that change that happened at Holland Bloorview.”
