Hands For Maddie Foundation

Please Support our "Blowout" Summer Fundraiser!

2009-07-30T22:40:52-04:00

The 2009 "Blowout" will support the Hands for Maddie Foundation! Please read below, and click this link ( Download Blowout2009.a ) to see our Flier in pdf, suitable for printing and posting. Thanks!

This fundraiser includes AMAZING FOOD (fresh fish, chicken, Thai, ribs, corn, desserts and more), DRINKS (soda, water, beer, wine), GAMES, PONY RIDES, FIRE TRUCK RIDES, RAFFLES CHINESE AUCTION and LIVE MUSIC.

This year's event will benefit Madison Rose Moura through the
Hands For Maddie Foundation.

Maddie and her twin, Kevin, were born on May 31, 2005. Maddie has Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy because of an intrauterine stroke. The Foundation raises funds for treatments not covered by insurance.

Tickets are $35.00 per person.
CHILDREN UNDER 12 are FREE!!

Get the flier here! Download Blowout2009.a

Update following Maddie's first C.I.T. Therapy

2009-07-02T11:09:13-04:00

It's been one month since Maddie completed the Constraint Induced Therapy at Hasbro Children's Hospital and it's hard to believe that it's all said and done at this point! We were surprised and relieved with Madison's willingness to participate in the beginning of the program and overwhelmed with her accomplishments by the end. She worked so hard each and every day and never quit. Her therapist, Linda Correia OTR/L, was phenomenal. She is extremely patient, kind and devoted. Linda believed in Maddie and helped her to achieve her goals.

The first week of Maddie's therapy was school vacation. It worked out perfectly to have a transition time at home to adjust to the cast and bond with Linda. Maddie hardly fought the cast and embraced having a new friend that was all her own! For weeks 2-4, I dropped Madison and Linda off at school at 8:40 and returned to pick them up at 11:10 am. Linda arrived each morning at 7am and immediately supported Maddie with dressing. We then proceeded on with breakfast and then Maddie and Linda were off! They brushed teeth, washed hands and played. All of the activities Maddie participated in were challenging but designed to make her successful no matter how well she performed the task. Some of the activities Maddie loved the most were play dough, bubbles, coloring and finger painting. Madison also loved to brush Linda's hair and that was often used as a reward activity. Maddie and Linda also spent countless hours atop the play structure drawing on the chalk wall and digging for treasures in Linda's bucket of rice and beans.

Today, Maddie attempts to use her right hand often and both hands together regularly when appropriate. Her fine motor skills are still inhibited but in general, she's using her right hand much more than before CIT. Maddie also recognizes her own successes so she's more apt to try a task. Before the therapy, Maddie neglected her right hand most of the time and refused to use it when prompted. Now, she's more confident and involved in some of the activates we do. Yesterday, Madison and I created a sunflower patch. I tilled the grass and dirt and Maddie steadily followed behind grabbing clumps of loose grass and vigorously shook out the dirt with her right hand! This is an outcome of her therapy. Maddie also pushes her baby stroller around the house like an old pro! She puts both hands on and rounds the corners with little difficulty. This is what being 4 is all about!

Due to the success of this 1st CIT program with Hasbro, Madison has been enrolled in 2 additional sessions for October 2009 and April 2010. We are able to do this for Maddie with the support and generosity of our friends and family. We are eternally grateful for support and could not have provided this for Maddie without you!

Jen and Jason Moura
(photos by Jen)

Maddie Completes First Week of CIT Therapy with Style!

2009-04-27T21:02:27-04:00

It is with relief and triumph that I announce the completion of Madison's first week of CIT therapy! And I have to give Maddie a hand. Of course she could use one literally, but I mean this figuratively. She amazed me time and time again over the past 6 days with an unlimited amount of patience, devotion and motivation. She asked just once for her cast to be removed and never complained that it was limiting her abilities.

On April 20,Maddie started Constraint Induced Therapy at Hasbro Children's Rehabilitation Center with some hesitance and a truck-load of spirit. Her initial assessment and casting went well and we were back home with our new friend, Linda the therapist, within 3 hours. (for the record, it's Linda Vieira, OTR/L) I give full credit to her therapists for allowing Maddie to be herself and express her needs and wants without jeopardizing the integrity of her cast and therapy. Linda is persistent and passionate about her work and puts first Madison's successes and helps her avoid failures. Her consistency and endurance impresses me beyond any.

This week Madison was on school vacation and spent the majority of it in therapy. Linda Vieira, OTR/L, worked with Maddie from 7 am -1 pm Monday thru Saturday. Upon Linda's arrival, she and Maddie would get dressed, eat breakfast, brush her teeth and start with various therapeutic games and activities. Some of the more interesting and fun moments were those spent outside. Maddie spent hours with Linda in the sandbox shoveling sand into buckets, sifting for toys and drawing tracks in the sand. Baby Becky, Madison's doll, had her fair share of activities including riding the teeter totter with Maddie, getting diaper changes and even potty training! On Saturday, Linda put a glob of Lemon/Lime scented shaving cream on the picnic table and Maddie spread it around the table like frosting on a cake. Madison also had the pleasure of hiding out atop the new play structure drawing on the chalk wall. ALL of these activities were done with her right hand! It was never easy for her but as she progressed through the week we noticed Maddie volunteering to use her right hand more with less prompting from Linda. She is opening and grasping her hand with some ease and has improved her grip with writing utensils. She even drew a circle yesterday morning! And whether or not related to this treatment, Maddie is hopping around like a bunny. She is so proud of her achievement and greatness. With all her might she flings herself up into the air, both feet off the ground and down again with a thud rarely stumbling!

For the rest of us, this week was incredible. Incredibly hard and incredibly wonderful. I found it challenging to have a new person in our home for so many hours each day and it was even harder to keep Maddie's brothers off of her and out of her therapeutic activities. Maddie has a sense of ownership of Linda and defends her territory fiercely. Maddie discovered the one good use for her cast: Clubbing her brothers. I found that even I was more effective if not directly involved with her activities. I was sort of a runner, fetching supplies, making snacks and sometimes stepping in for a hug. On Saturday I had a moment alone in the backyard and suddenly realized that I had been relieved of worry and guilt. I am without any doubt that this was the right thing for Maddie and it is obvious now that she was ready for this and is accepting it! Madison is making strides!

This first week was topped off with

a family dinner at Uno's. With some assistance from Daddy, Madison attacked a giant bowl of Mac & Cheese and finished it off with an ice cream sunday. Earlier today I painted her fingernails a funky shade of purpley-pink and adorned her cast with some stripes and a green 'M'. Madison happily went off to bed tonight reciting, "Tomorrow, Linda coming with me to school, no bus!"

Jen and Jason

(Photos of Maddie with Linda Vieira, OTR/L, her therapist. Photos by Jen Moura)

Spring Newsletter is Here!

2009-04-24T05:06:41-04:00

Dear friends of the Hands for Maddie Foundation,

We are pleased to announce that the Spring Newsletter 2009 is available! Please click here to view the Newsletter, which is in pdf format. This format makes it easy to open and view by everyone. In addition, please feel encouraged to print it out and share with others who may also be interested.

Your comments (below) are always appreciated. Again, thanks for your continued encouragement and support.

Jen and Jason Moura

Hands for Maddie Spring 09 Newsletter

Hands for Maddie Appeal

2009-02-16T14:17:09-05:00

"If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them growing"
- Coco Chanel

Dear Friend,

We are asking for your support to raise critical funds for medical treatments and therapeutic services provided for our daughter, Madison Moura. Madison Rose and her twin Kevin Russell were born on May 31, 2005. Maddie had a stroke in utero, which caused Hemiplegia and Cerebral Palsy. Simultaneously, she suffered from Volkmann’s Contracture to her left forearm, rendering her left hand deformed with minimal use. In her three and a half years of life, Maddie has had fourteen surgeries. These surgeries and other procedures saved her arm from amputation, helped to reconstruct lost tissue, including bone, skin and muscle and provided some function. In addition, Maddie’s stroke caused right-sided partial paralysis and weakness, spasticity, vision loss and speech delays. Madison wears a brace on her right leg and receives Botox injections every 6 months to help overcome some of these symptoms. Madison receives therapy services every weekday and attends Pre-K at East Fairhaven Elementary School.

Unfortunately, there are many services not covered by health insurance that could be a benefit to Maddie. Maddie will also likely exhaust her occupational therapy benefits within the next couple of years even though her condition will present lifelong challenges. Our immediate need is to fund Constraint Induced Therapy (CIT) at Hasbro Children’s Rehabilitation Department beginning April 6, 2009. The cost of this therapy alone is $15,000 and must be paid before treatment can begin.

The Constraint Induced Therapy Program is an intense therapeutic program for children who have an asymmetrical clinical presentation resulting from a neurological impairment (in Maddie’s case a stroke). This approach involves constraint of Madison’s stronger left arm and hand using a lightweight cast. The casting is designed to limit use of the more functional side and thus help improve use of the weaker arm and hand. The program consists of twenty-one days of six-hour therapy sessions (total of 126 hours) over the course of four weeks. The therapy will be provided in Maddie’s natural environment beginning with her waking in the morning, continuing through her school day and typical daily activities. Family is encouraged to participate in the sessions and expected to continue to facilitate use of her right arm and hand before, after daily sessions, and on weekends as the cast remains on twenty-four hours per day.

Forcing Maddie’s use of her upper right extremities will encourage her brain to develop new pathways. Research has shown that this constraint therapy program, which is based on a similar program for adults, has significantly increased the children’s ability to use their weaker arm. Maddie’s participation is crucial because her left (good) hand is considered only a "helping hand” due to Volkmann’s Contracture. This makes it even more critical to give her as much ability in her right hand and arm as possible.

Madison’s life is full and joyous. Maddie loves to play with her doll Baby Becky, toy kitchen and has fun drawing. She makes really nice circles and her favorite color is purple. Anyone who knows Madison would agree that she's most happy at the beach, playing in the water and sifting sand through any one of her little shovels. There are so many challenges that Madison meets in a day. Maddie struggles with the things that you and I find easy: putting on her coat, zipping her pants, feeding herself, and pushing hair from her face. The simple task of carrying her toys takes all of her concentration.

Maddie is not defined by her limitations but by her indomitable spirit and tenacity! There are so many challenges that Madison has met but many more await her. Your contributions will help Maddie gain additional abilities and a sense of accomplishment in order to lead a more typical life.

We sincerely appreciate your generosity.

Gratefully,

Jennifer and Jason Moura

Donate Here!