Walking Tall (continued)

Independent Steps

Through all of this, Daniel continued with his physical therapy. For the past five years he has been working with Christa Blanche, a physical therapist at Children’s Therapy Center: Aurora (Southeast).

“Daniel is a lovable kid to work with, very friendly,” Blanche said. “He wants to play a lot. That’s what we do with the kids, work on our goals while they play. If you work on gait (walking), we don’t just walk up and down the hallway, we always incorporate a game like walking to pick up puzzle pieces and finishing a puzzle.”

Blanche worked with Daniel on improving his balance, walking and strength. She incorporated Daniel’s interests to keep him motivated, such as playing baseball with him to improve his balance.

“At first it was difficult for him to just stand, and he would fall down every time,” Blanche said. “Adding swinging a bat was much more difficult for him. It was a great achievement for him when he could actually swing the bat and hit the ball.”

One of Blanche’s initial goals was for Daniel to walk independently. Following his surgeries, he moved through a walker and crutches to canes while working with Blanche.

“Last year Daniel started to ask, ‘When can I graduate from therapy?’” Blanche said. “I said, ‘as soon as you start with some outside activities.’

“These kids need exercise the rest of their lives. The main point of our therapy is to help them move into the community. We work toward taking their exercise programs and continuing them outside.”

So the Dales looked into gymnastics and martial-arts programs and found several locations that were willing to accommodate Daniel. But according to Curt, Daniel didn’t need “mere accommodation.”

Then they met Kevin “Master Flash” Garcia, who runs Martial Arts USA in Parker.

“The approach was totally different,” Curt said. “Mr. Garcia took to Daniel instantly, seeing his potential. We saw that this was going to work, that Daniel would be able to transition to real-world activities.”

Daniel began taking classes in Garcia’s American mixed martial-arts program, which includes Cane Master training, a curriculum developed for seniors and the handicapped who use canes.

“As Daniel started developing it, it became evident that it was a good self-defense tool, too,” Garcia said. “We teach them how to use a cane for exercise, how to protect themselves.

“When I first met Daniel I thought, ‘Cool, he’s got two canes, I never even thought of that! You can help me. You can show me stuff with two canes and I’ll show you with one!’”

Daniel and Curt take the classes together. Curt said that when Daniel started the class, he could only kick 4 inches off the ground. After just a few weeks, his kicks were 14 inches high. At his last therapy appointment, Blanche measured Daniel’s kick at 21 inches off the ground. A few months ago, Daniel and Curt tested for basic Cane Master certification and earned the gold belt.

“When he started with martial arts, I challenged Daniel to start walking without canes, but he didn’t have the confidence to throw the canes away,” Blanche said. “So one day (Garcia) told him you just have to throw the canes away – and he did it. He came back the next week and told me he decided not to walk with the canes anymore.           

“I just get tears in my eyes when I think about it, when I think about where I started with him, and now he’s walking,” Blanche said. “And it’s not a pretty walk, he still has his hands up and he still falls, but he’s a graceful faller. I love my kids, and wish I could do more for them. They are locked in these bodies, and I wish I could wave a magic wand for them. But my philosophy is, ‘always treat these kids like normal kids, don’t let them hide behind their disabilities; push them to get the best out of them.’”

“Really, it’s a miracle,” Chang said. “If he didn’t have the hip and foot surgery, he wouldn’t be able to do any of the martial arts.”

‘Kids Need a Kids’ Hospital’

Daniel continues to advance in his martial arts. Blanche will see him again in six months; if he hasn’t regressed, he will be discharged from therapy and will continue in martial arts to improve his strength and mobility.

“I’m sad and happy to be done meeting with Christa,” Daniel said. “I’m sad because I’ve been doing it for 12 years. I’m happy that I don’t have to go anymore.”

Curt said, “Going to the Southeast satellite is like going home. They are terrific people.”

As a sixth-grader, Daniel is on the leadership council at Iron Horse Elementary in Parker. He won the class spelling bee the last three years. He enjoys physical education, reading and writing. He also loves playing video and computer games and playing with his friends. He is very involved with Boy Scouts, and is on target to become an Eagle Scout mid-summer, just three weeks past his 13th birthday. He enjoys watching baseball and soccer, and hopes to be able to play them someday.

And thanks to the caregivers at Children’s, he might just reach that goal.

“Like their slogan says, ‘Kids need a kids’ hospital,’” Daniel said.

Curt said, “When we first met Daniel, we hoped he would be able to have some quality of life. When people working with you tell you that he has no prospects and all you have is a smile and some eye contact, you really don’t know where it’s going to go. Now the potential is unlimited. Anything I have ever estimated for him he has exceeded.

It has truly been a series of miracles; every operation and test he’s had are true miracles.”

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