Total Pediatric Therapy is passionate about helping our patients achieve their greatest potential mobility in any way possible. Mobility can come along in many forms of opportunity. This weekend, Total Pediatric Therapy headed to Utah and was able to participate in the adventure of a lifetime to help a patient of ours reach a lifelong goal.
Anthony Castle (A.C.) is an amazing individual. A.C. has Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy, which is a progressive neuromuscular disease. While his mobility has progressively become more limited, his drive and passion for adventure certainly has not. Anthony lost his ability to walk as a teenager and now relies on a power wheelchair for mobility. His medical care has become complex over the last few years. One of his dreams was to hike through Bryce Canyon and the Zion Narrows.
Katie Prenovost, PT, DPT (Owner/PT), Brittany Zimmerman (PT) and Tyler Prenovost (Co-Owner) joined A.C. and a team of 20 others to help make Anthony’s dream possible. The success of this adventure took the support and love of Anthony’s remarkable family, a crew of 5 Firefighters from the Little Tujunga Hotshots out of California, two Physical Therapists and a network of friends and family that continue to advocate for and support Anthony on his journey.
Weeks prior to the trip, Katie and Brittany helped make necessary adjustments to Anthony’ hiking chair to ensure comfort and proper mechanics to promote safety for this journey. During both hikes, they were able to transfer Anthony out of his chair for necessary stretching and tissue work to ensure he could tolerate the longevity and variability of the hiking to greater enhance his experience.
We are immensely proud of Anthony and grateful to be a part of his journey. It reinforces that abilities come in many forms. A.C.’s smile and drive to explore motivates us and we hope that other individuals with limited abilities will look at his journey and know what IS POSSIBLE.
For more information on Anthony’s journey:
Watch Carry On: Finding Hope in the Canyon | Prime Video (amazon.com)
For more information on Duchene’s Muscular Dystrophy:
Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) | Fighting to End Duchenne (parentprojectmd.org)