Within 24 hours of welcoming their first child in 2009, Catherine Coutts and Mark Hippern learned that their daughter, Gabriella, was dealing with serious health concerns.
Through newborn screening at the IWK, Gabriella’s care team discovered she had hypertonia, a condition in which there is significantly increased muscle tone. It can be caused by damage to the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), causing a communication error and disrupting muscle activity. Babies with hypertonia can appear stiff and have trouble moving their muscles.
Gabriella had many tests done, including genetic and neurological testing, blood work, and an MRI, to try and pinpoint why the damage occurred. Unfortunately, a specific reason could not be identified.
Because of her hypertonia and its impact on all her muscles, Gabriella’s diagnosis is classified as global developmental delay – a term used when a child shows delays across several areas of development.
“The increased tone in her muscles has affected all of her development – from eating to talking and walking,” explains Catherine. “She really has had to work extremely hard to teach and train her body to perform these types of skills that come naturally to most.”
Sadly, there is no cure or medication to treat her condition. But, through the ongoing care and support from teams across the IWK, Gabriella has overcome many developmental challenges caused by her condition.
Although Gabriella does use a wheelchair and walker for many activities, she has learned how to walk independently, including going up and down the stairs – an incredible milestone she achieved after many years of physiotherapy at the IWK. And thanks to ongoing speech therapy and a program offered at the IWK called It Takes Two to Talk, she learned how to speak and is known as quite the chatterbox and social butterfly.
“When we first started on this journey, we didn’t know what to expect,” says Catherine. “But she’s come such a long way, and we are very thankful for all the support we have received from the IWK.”
Gabriella, now 13, loves reading, dancing, listening to music and attending concerts. She regularly visits many departments at the IWK, including Ophthalmology, Neurology, Rec Therapy, Physio, and Occupational Therapy. She is also followed closely by the Developmental Pediatrics Clinic and will continue to receive ongoing care and support.
