Limitless Potential: Mallory's Story

When Mallory was three months old, she began experiencing some very serious medical issues. Doctors soon diagnosed her with hemimegalencephaly - a rare genetic condition that causes one half of the brain to be larger than the other. This disease comes along with seizures that don’t respond to medication, so the only real option for treatment is surgery. Mallory was scheduled for her first surgery at just six months old.

Mallory’s medical diagnosis created uncertainty that brought on fear and anxiety for her family. Her mom, Erica, recalls thinking, ‘What is her life going to be like? What will her limitations be? What is our future as a family?’ They acknowledged that Mallory could have many developmental delays. Doctors said that she would have low vision and wouldn’t be able to walk, talk, or eat on her own, especially after her brain surgeries were performed.

Mallory’s family was not from Northeast Indiana, but her mom remembered hearing about Turnstone during one of her classes at IPFW where they were talking about resources for outpatient therapy. After her mom connected with a social worker, Mallory became a Turnstone client at three months old.

“Turnstone became more of our family than blood family. We saw them more often and they were involved in Mallory’s daily life. [Being at Turnstone,] it truly is a family - when she was recovering from her surgeries with very intense therapies, they [Turnstone] were our go-to. They were our security, you know? They helped us feel supported, safe, and like we were doing the right things,” said Erica.

Erica was juggling work and school in the early years, so Mallory’s brother was typically in tow when it came time for therapy. Erica is so thankful that the Turnstone therapists were always welcoming to him and incorporated him into Mallory’s activities. Coming to therapy was a big part of Mallory’s life and having her brother involved allowed these sessions to be based around real-life activities.

Looking back, Mallory is a bit of a Turnstone celebrity, having participated in almost every program available to her from physical, speech, and occupational therapies, to attending the Kimbrough Early Learning Center for childcare, after school care, and even the summer program. And, 11 years later, Mallory is now an adventurous eater and active pre-teen with an expressive personality to match.

“Speech is the biggest [achievement of Mallory’s we are most proud of]. Her brain surgery was known to not have people ever talk again. She not only started talking, but when she got a little older, we saw the cognitive side of her speech kick in. She was not only understanding what was being said to her and expressing emotion back, but she was telling jokes and they were funny! Realizing she could comprehend speech enough to make funny jokes was amazing,” said her mom, Erica.

Today, Mallory has successfully phased out most of her therapies. She still attends occupational therapy and in the past few years, has become a client of F.L.O.W. Recreation, who just became a significant recreation therapy partner with Turnstone.

“After coming to Turnstone multiple times every week for many years, it’s been hard to let go of that ‘security blanket’. It’s hard to believe that your child has come so far that they don’t need these therapies anymore,” said Erica. “But, we were so glad when F.L.O.W. and Turnstone decided to partner together. I feel at ease knowing that Mallory can continue doing activities in a facility that she knows and loves and that the people there know and love her too.”

“Mallory wouldn’t be where she’s at if she hadn’t come to Turnstone. She put in so much time and the therapists invested so much into her. It’s a hard experience and journey as it is, but without Turnstone, we would not have been able to make the best of it.”

Because of donors like you, and your gifts today, you make it possible for people like Mallory to reach milestones doctors said weren’t possible. You give people with disabilities the gift of a life full of achieving their highest potential.