2 MIN READ
Elizabeth’s Story: The Importance of Fun in Therapy
Fun is an important word to Elizabeth’s family. It’s one word you could definitely use to describe Elizabeth. She’s a playful two-year-old girl who loves to read, play games and shower her family with hugs and kisses. Though she may be shy at first, she has a smile that can melt your heart and a laugh that lights up a room.
Despite her positive attitude and strength, life wasn’t always fun for Elizabeth and her family early on. Elizabeth was born with a brain tumor. Its presence caused her head at four months old to be the size it is now at two years old. In addition to the tumor’s obvious health and cognitive development risks, this also stalled her physical development. For one thing, her head was too heavy to lift on her own, making it difficult for her to interact with the world around her and have fun.
When she was five months old, Elizabeth had the tumor surgically removed at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, followed by additional surgeries placing shunts to drain excess fluid from her head and allow her brain to grow.
“Her brain had to establish pathways that didn’t exist before,” Emily, Elizabeth’s mother, said. “Elizabeth’s development is right on track for her age in many ways, but certain aspects of her development basically didn’t start until after the surgeries... physically, she had to relearn everything.”
While Emily’s career was in Wichita, Elizabeth’s medical team and extended family were all in St. Louis, so Emily kept them there while Elizabeth needed more medical attention. In the fall of 2021, Elizabeth’s health stabilized and the focus shifted from medical to developmental. That’s when they found Heartspring and decided they were ready to move to Wichita.
"If at any point I felt reservations about the ability of the Heartspring team to provide her with the therapies she needed, I would’ve moved us back to St. Louis,” Emily said. “Heartspring is a huge part of the reason why we were finally able to build the home I’d always planned to build with Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth started receiving therapy a year ago. She sees a team made up of a physical therapist, occupational therapist, and speech-language pathologist. They use play to help Elizabeth meet her developmental goals. The team works with each other, Elizabeth and Emily to create the best plan.
“I absolutely think the coordination between the therapists is awesome,” Emily said. “When it comes to Elizabeth’s care, I’ve become very used to making sure specialists talk to each other. But at Heartspring, I find that they’ve usually already aligned before I bring things up. And they are constantly seeking ways to keep activities tailored to Elizabeth’s evolving needs and interests. I really appreciate the whole team’s proactive, personalized approach.”
Most importantly, fun remains the core principle of Elizabeth’s therapies. Whether it be stacking rings at physical therapy or making hand washing a game at occupational therapy, Elizabeth’s therapists tap into her playful nature to make sure she is engaged and making strides.
