1st United Methodist

Meet Suzy Royal!  Suzy and her twin sister, Mimi, were born prematurely on August 25, 2001, at 25 weeks gestation. Within days, Suzy experienced a Grade 3 brain hemorrhage. At age two, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Suzy has received physical therapy and occupational therapy since she was six months old. Today, in addition to PT and OT, she also receives aquatic therapy and hippotherapy.

Suzy and Mimi were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit of Northside Hospital – Suzy for three months and Mimi for four. And although Mimi was the sicker of our two children, it was Suzy who ended up with the long-term disability. In her short eight years, she has endured a great deal of therapy and treatments to help her mobility. In December 2006, she under went hamstring and heel cord release surgery. She was a phenomenal patient and did well in rehabilitation. In the summer of 2010, she will have femoral derotation surgery to correct the position of her feet. This will do wonders for her posture and gait! A tricycle will do wonders for therapy following this surgery. It will increase her leg strength like no other therapy!

Suzy is a smart child and has done well in school. She is an avid reader, loves to ride horses and has a wonderful imagination. She loves to swim and sings in our church choir. In spite of her physical difficulties, Suzy is a happy eight year old with lots of friends and family who love her deeply.

Suzy’s milestones were slow in coming. She did not walk until age 5. Today she walks independently, but needs assistance ambulating steps and curbs.

Our family has been blessed with wonderful doctors, nurses, and therapists who have assisted Suzy along the way. She’s a good patient and enjoys the attention of healthcare providers. We have faced many challenges with Suzy but recognize how blessed we are that, like I always say – “Thank you, Lord, that it’s only CP.”

Suzy has enjoyed an adaptive tricycle in the past. We were able to borrow one from our local school system. However, she’s experienced such a growth spurt in recent months, she has outgrown the use of the tricycle. We would love for her to have her very own trike that she could enjoy for years to come. We live in a small town with sidewalks and plenty of fun places to ride. She loves riding, but adaptive tricycles are cost prohibitive for us.

Our family was the 2007 Ambassador Family for the March of Dimes for Coweta County.

Our girls are such blessings, not only to us, but to all those who know them. Suzy and Mimi are very close to one another and enjoy playing with one another. For our girls to be able to ride bikes and trikes together would be wonderful. To now, that opportunity has been limited because Suzy cannot ride a traditional bike.

We appreciate your consideration of an adaptive tricycle for Suzy. We can assure you it will be put to good use and put a big smile on the face of a little girl who loves the wind in her face and speed!

Sincerely,
Beth Royal

Mission accomplished!  Steve Mitchell and First United Methodist Church of Newnan have built a bike for Suzy Royal!

Please see our other open campaigns for your donations.