David’s Story: ‘He Never Gives Up’

David’s Story: ‘He Never Gives Up… and Five Counties is the Support System We Need’

Find a Printable Version of David’s Story Here

David is age 10, or 10 1/2 as he would say. He is an athletic kid who plays ball hockey, basketball and soccer. “One of the amazing things about David is that he never gives up, which has helped him so much with participating in sports and his Five Counties journey,” says his mother, Wendy.

Read what else Wendy has to say about David and the important support he receives from Five Counties:

“I adopted David from Haiti when he was four years old. I knew David was born with cerebral palsy and right-side hemiplegia (weakness), so I made sure we had support in place for when David first arrived in Canada and Five Counties was a big part of that support. I made an appointment for him before he arrived so that we could start physio assessments as soon as he came home. Since then, David has benefitted from, speech therapy, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy at the Centre.”

“Right now, David’s main goal is to strengthen his right side. He is exceptionally strong on his left side, so we want to even it out and give him balance and stability. His biggest challenge is learning how to navigate a two-handed world with one hand. It is important to see things from David’s perspective. If I don’t understand why he can’t do something; I try to do it with one hand and I see how difficult it really is. He has the most perseverance of any person you will meet.

“Five Counties gives us the support system we need. Staff are always reassuring us that we are doing the right thing and guiding us in strengthening or balancing exercises. They also keep tabs on David’s progress and if we need to make a change, they can recommend tweaks or new exercises. Five
Counties has helped increase his strength and mobility, and because of that he has so much more confidence in himself. Five Counties also gives him many connections with people in our community as he gets so many more opportunities to interact with people. Because of this David feels comfortable
at Five Counties. You should see him, he just walks in and everyone knows him, and he knows everyone, it’s his jam.

Five Counties is an invaluable community resource. In addition to therapy, they offer resources, support and sense of community. It helps families like ours feel okay knowing there are other families who are experiencing the same issues right here in our community.”

Interested in sharing your story? Email us at development@fivecounties.on.ca

Category: General News,Testimonials