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Zohan came to LifeScape from Wisconsin, his parents hopeful that the therapy program they’d heard about would solve their son’s inability to eat. At age five and about to start school, he was still getting his nutrition either from a baby bottle or through a feeding tube he’d had since his premature birth. He had never learned the mechanics of eating, and he choked whenever he tried. Bright and energetic, Zohan developed an actual fear of eating and became physically ill at the sight and smell of food.
His physician in Milwaukee made a referral and he was soon admitted to the Intensive Day Program for Feeding Therapy, a program at LifeScape’s Children’s Specialty Hospital. After three weeks of therapy three times a day, he was eating meats, vegetables, fruits—everything his family was eating.
“This is something we never imagined,” said his mom, Samira. His parents were hoping for a miracle, and they got it.
At age three, Ethan was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor after he began having seizures. He was developing typically until then, but the seizures sadly caused him to lose much of his verbal and motor ability. He was admitted to hospice care three times over the years, but each time fought back to survive. At 11, pneumonia again threatened Ethan’s life. After a seven-week hospitalization, he came to the Children’s Specialty Hospital at LifeScape for rehab. After returning home, his small school increasingly felt they could no longer support him well, and suggested he return to LifeScape. His parents, Nicholas and Tasha, were resistant at first to have their son away from them, but eventually did enroll Ethan in LifeScape’s Specialty School and Residential programs. Ethan is now 17 and thriving. “Having LifeScape to support us has been a game-changer,” says Tasha. “It’s a partnership I’m so glad for. We always want our kids to have the best, and that’s what LifeScape is.”
On those happy days when families come to our Children’s Specialty Hospital at LifeScape to bring their children home again, Patricia makes it hard for them to leave. Everyone who meets her becomes attached to her. They always exclaim, “Her smile just melts your heart!”
Born two months early and weighing just over two pounds, Patricia has spent almost her whole life in the hospital. She spent the first several months in intensive care, went home, and returned to the hospital with pneumonia, fighting for her life. The surgeons performed a tracheostomy to help her breathe.
Patricia is truly thriving, achieving many milestones, thanks to the care provided by LifeScape. She receives physical therapy, speech therapy, nursing care, education, and regular physician visits. She is even starting to talk, which is amazing with a trach tube, and she is very mobile! As soon as she can breathe on her own at night, she will be able to return home. In the meantime, her parents visit Patricia as often as they can, much comforted by the excellent care their toddler is receiving.
In October 2022, Jenny and Dusty–already parents of three–became parents of quadruplets. Cru, Levi, Grayson, and Oakley — three boys and a girl–were born ten weeks early. They spent two months in the NICU, then continued to grow stronger at home.
When the quads started therapy at LifeScape, they were months behind developmentally. Levi and Grayson began physical therapy (PT) at seven months to address neck muscle tightness and weakness. They were also fitted with cranial helmets to correct head shape concerns. Cru and Oakley began PT at 11 months to address gross motor delays.
Twice each week, they travel 45 minutes to Sioux Falls for therapy. “They love coming here,” says Jenny. “Even when I pull into the parking lot, they start to giggle and get excited.” The therapists have helped the babies gain coordination and strength to roll over, sit up, and crawl–with walking on the horizon.
“There are thousands of people that walk through LifeScape’s doors,” says Jenny. “Everybody has a different story, and you have people at LifeScape that are rooting for those individuals. And yes, they may have a disability, but at LifeScape the focus is very much on their abilities.”
His name means “little fighter,” and that’s been his style from the beginning. Diagnosed before birth with heart defects and with intestines formed outside of his body, Kaden was expected to die before birth. But he has proved the doctors wrong at every turn.
Kaden had many surgeries and spent over a year in hospitals before coming to LifeScape’s Specialty Hospital for rehab care. At LifeScape, Kaden got intensive medical therapies to gain strength and skills, and he was fitted with a wheelchair system that would grow with him. He has done so well, he no longer needs the wheelchair! LifeScape’s ventilator-weaning program helped him learn to breathe without the ventilator, and now he is running and playing with his classmates as a day student at LifeScape. He’s beating all the odds!
Xiomara has a very rare, degenerative gene mutation which has damaged her nervous system. As a result, she is unable to move much of her upper body. She is a patient in the Medically Complex Program at LifeScape’s Children’s Specialty Hospital.
When she was admitted to LifeScape at age three, she couldn’t sit up or lift her arms. She had a manual wheelchair she couldn’t propel. The ventilator that helps her breathe prevents her from speaking, but her speech-language pathologists easily taught her to communicate in English and Spanish through a computerized device controlled with her feet.
The LifeScape assistive technology staff customized a power wheelchair with foot controls which carries her extensive medical equipment. She attends school in a classroom on the hospital unit, so exposure to viruses is kept to a minimum.
Smart and determined, Xiomara is now six years old. Her therapists say she keeps the goalposts moving, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“People don’t realize, it’s not just the child, it’s the whole family affected,” says Ashley, the mom of Maximus, who has autism. Six-year-old Max lives at home with his family and is a day student at the LifeScape Specialty School.
Before he came to LifeScape three years ago, disruption was the center of the family’s life. Maximus couldn’t sleep, so nobody slept. He ate poorly and had constant self-injury—usually biting or hitting himself. He was little, but he was beyond their control.
Now the structure and specialized teaching at LifeScape are helping him learn self-regulation and communication skills. “LifeScape has been lifechanging for us,” says Ashley. “From thinking you might not be able to even keep your child, to knowing how to help him and feeling like an actual parent to him…” The hope is that Maximus can return to his Sioux Falls public school in the fall. “LifeScape has changed him and us for the better—so, so much.”
Twice each week, three-year-old Riggs and his mom make the 90-mile trip from their home in rural Minnesota for him to have occupational and speech therapy at LifeScape.
He has a rare genetic disorder which can affect growth; the skeletal system; intellectual, learning, and motor development; behavior; and the internal organs. His parents knew they wanted to bring him to LifeScape for therapy.
Riggs wasn’t expected to walk but took his first steps at 18 months, soon after he started physical therapy. He’s now been discharged from PT, as he’s met his goals. He is now increasing his communication abilities and gaining skills so he can go to school in his own community.
“Lifescape has been nothing but a blessing to our family,” says his dad, Taylor. “Riggs has done exceptionally well, given his diagnosis, with the help of the many therapists who have helped him.”
Akira was born three months early, weighing 1 lb., 8 oz. Her undeveloped lungs were the biggest threat to her survival, and she still uses a ventilator to breathe. Nicknamed “Kiki,” she is now four years old and a patient in the Medically Complex Program at LifeScape’s Children’s Specialty Hospital.
She needs 24/7 medical care and would ideally have nursing care in her home in Ipswich, SD. There are no nurses available, though, and Kiki’s mom, Trisha, is thankful that LifeScape is there as an alternative for her happy, outgoing child. “She has plenty of interactions with other kids at LifeScape,” says Trisha. “She’s living as normally as she can be, and she has really built bonds with a lot of the nurses. They go out of their way to treat the kids like their own kids.”
LifeScape also has the expertise to wean children from ventilators, which is in process for Kiki. When that process is complete, Kiki will go home. In the meantime, Kiki gets regular therapy and is in LifeScape’s accredited school, learning colors, numbers, and how to communicate on her new tablet. “I don’t know what we’d do without LifeScape,” says Trisha. “She’d be in a nursing home or someplace out of state.”
Christian came to LifeScape at age 17 in an emergency placement from Rapid City. With a diagnosis of autism, he had always struggled to manage his emotions and behaviors. Unpredictability and certain sensory inputs overwhelmed him, and his lashing out intensified with puberty and became dangerous as he grew. He would later be remorseful, but he had no idea how to overcome his reactions. The schools weren’t equipped for Christian’s needs, and for crises at home, they could only go the hospital emergency room or call the police for help in calming him.
His mom Kari enrolled Christian in the LifeScape Specialty School and Children’s Residential Program in Sioux Falls. With the staff expertise, 24-hour care, and a structured environment, Christian quickly learned self-regulation. He has now transitioned to adult services at LifeScape, where he is learning to live more independently. The hope is that he can one day live again in his own community.
“LifeScape has given me back my son,” said Kari. “I will be forever grateful.”
