The greatest hope of eight-year-old Katrina is to be able to walk, play with other children and become less dependent on people around her for help. She needs a reciprocating gait orthosis and a lot of work on learning to move with it before her hope is fulfilled.

Like any other child, Katrina is growing rapidly: her orthosis must be lengthened, readjusted and switched to a larger model every 1.5 year. Baltikums Foundation helped Katrina’s family by covering this year’s orthosis manufacture bill.

Katrina is a very kindhearted, patient and brave girl, the middle child in her family. She was born with a severe diagnosis and had to undergo several neurosurgical operations. Since the age of 6 months, the girl has been regularly visiting a physiotherapist, an osteopath, an ergotherapist, training in a swimming pool, and taking equine-assisted therapy during warmer periods. The orthosis is indispensable for the girl’s neuromuscular development; it also helps her improve skills that come naturally to other children, such as movement and physical play.

Katrina has just started school. We sincerely wish Katrina and her family the strength and perseverance to be as active as children of her age!