Hollywood Comedy Becomes Frightening Reality

Sony Pictures’ 50 First Dates is a romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Barrymore’s character, Lucy, has short term memory loss due to a brain injury she sustained in a car accident. She loses her memory every single night and can’t remember anything that has happened since her accident. It’s supposed to be a funny movie… but what would happen if this Hollywood comedy were to become your frightening reality?

Joleen was an active, healthy, 30 year old mother of four, including a four month old baby. However, due to an incorrect combination of medications she received in a hospital emergency room she suffered hypoxia and her blood oxygen level plummeted to 23%. She turned blue and became unresponsive. Doctors rushed to revive her.

When she awoke it became apparent that she had suffered an injury to her brain due to a lack of oxygen. She had completely lost her short term memory. Every five minutes her brain would recycle and she would have no memory of where she was or why she was there. People were unfamiliar. She felt as if a fog had descended on her and she couldn’t find her way out. It was a hopeless, terrifying experience.

After four long, frustrating days she was released from the hospital. Her family was told there was nothing more that could be done for her. They would simply need to wait and see if her memory would ever come back.

Thankfully, Joleen’s husband, Juan, wasn’t in a waiting mood and he immediately began calling for help. Their family doctor told them about Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and advised them to take Joleen to Sara’s Garden as soon as possible. That’s all Juan needed to hear. That afternoon they were on their way to Wauseon for treatments.

When they arrived, Joleen was vacant, distant and totally unsure of her situation. She was scared, confused and could not engage anyone in conversation. Juan cried as he recounted their last five days. Joleen asked him why he was crying and if she had done anything wrong. Later she commented that she felt as if “None of the parts of my brain were touching each other.”

By the end of her first treatment she looked at her attending nurse and said she felt as if a fog was lifting off of her mind. She began remembering things. Juan was amazed at the change he was seeing take place in his wife right before his eyes as he watched and listened to her on the monitors.

Five days and eight treatments later, Joleen is a completely different person than she was when she first walked through our doors… physically, intellectually and emotionally. She is now alert and able to focus on her surroundings. She is able to carry on a conversation fluidly without pausing and struggling to consider every single answer or comment. She is able to smile… and laugh… and joke with people she comes in contact with.

Thanks to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Sara’s Garden, Joleen has her life back… and her family has their wife and mother back.

There is hope… for this and many other conditions. HBOT is treatment without drugs… without surgery… without pain.

You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Till It’s Gone

As the saying goes, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” Steve lived an active lifestyle and enjoyed many different outdoor activities. He was an avid bicycle rider, loved working out and enjoyed shooting his bow at the local club. All that changed in 2008.

After dealing with uncontrolled Diabetes and the side effects from various prescription drugs for a number of years, Steve suffered neurological damage and collapsed. Doctors diagnosed him with Ataxia. Ataxia is described as a lack of order and consists of gross lack of coordination of muscle movement. For the next three years, Ataxia has caused a variety of neurological deficits for Steve such as impaired balance, lack of energy, poor coordination, nightly body tremors and memory deterioration.

Steve longed to be able to do all of the things that he had enjoyed for so many years. To his dismay, he was not able to any longer. He sold his bike, cancelled his membership to the club and began trying to cope with life without his physical activities and exercises.

Doctors placed Steve on a number of medications that were unsuccessful in treating him so he and his wife, Linda, began researching other forms of treatment. It was during this time that they discovered Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) at Sara’s Garden.

When Steve first came to Sara’s Garden his movement was slow and deliberate and he needed the assistance of a cane in order to make it from his car to the building. His speech was slow and he looked to his wife to assist with many of the questions as he simply could not recall any of the answers. They requested treatments in the late morning and early afternoon as Steve could not get out of bed before 10:30 a.m. and took a long time to get ready.

After his first day of HBOT, Steve was out of bed and showered by 7:30 and began making coffee and reading the newspaper. A few treatments later Steve stated that, “It feels like a fog is lifting off of me.” He was able to think much clearer and his memory began to return.

By the end of his first week of treatments, Steve began walking without the use of his cane. His gait became much more confident and he began walking with much more purpose. When he needed to bend over to tie his shoes or towel off after showering, he no longer had to hold onto something to maintain his balance. The nightly tremors that they lived with for so long went away and Steve began sleeping through the night.

After three weeks of treatments Steve now has plans to start getting back into all of the activities he loved so much. Since beginning his HBOT treatments his blood sugar levels have never spiraled out of control and he has been able to reduce the medications he has been taking. He feels great and now has the confidence in his body’s abilities to resume his active lifestyle.

Thanks to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Sara’s Garden, Steve now has his life back… and his family has their husband, father and grandfather back.

There is hope… for this and many other conditions. HBOT is treatment without drugs… without surgery… without pain.

Hard Work Pays Off for William

William Denver Burton was born not breathing and, as a result, suffered hypoxia – a lack of oxygen to the brain. His family went through two life flights, with many scary times following. After six months, it became obvious to William’s mother Angie that he was not developing as a normal baby should. That was when the typical treatment approach began – physical and occupational therapy one or two times a week.

William began individual Conductive Education sessions around ten months of age. At that time, William presented with severe hypotonia, or extremely low muscle tone. He was unable to nod or shake his head, roll over continuously, ambulate in any way, achieve a sitting position, or participate in the process of standing up. William had little to no social skills, could not or would not pick up food and bring it to his mouth, did not vocalize, and had chewing problems.

Around approximately 12 months old, William began attending a more intensive group CE program. With the help of his parents and caregiver, William began to learn the crucial skills required to meet the milestones of rolling over, sitting up, and moving around more independently.

William has continued in the group CE program over the past two years and has achieved so much, including sitting up from lying; maintaining a hands-and-knees kneeling position; standing up from a seated position with his walker; and walking just about everywhere independently with the use of his walker.

The achievements are not just limited to physical skills however. He no longer has chewing problems and picks up and brings food to his mouth willingly. After eating, William opens the container of baby wipes independently, pulls one out, closes the container, and cleans his face independently.

His verbalizations are becoming more clear, and his vocabulary has expanded to approximately 25 easily understandable words and names of friends, teachers, and caregivers. His mother is amazed at how dramatically his verbalization has increased since beginning Conductive Education.

William is now incredibly social. He enjoys interacting with peers, he waves and smiles appropriately, and enjoys a good joke.

Currently William is learning to walk with tripod canes. It began slowly, as every individual part of the process must be learned. When William first began using the canes, he needed physical help to keep his balance to stand with the canes, move a cane forward, and take a step. After a few months, William now requires only verbal help to remind him what he needs to do. He can stand safely for several minutes on his own with the canes and he can move the canes forward on his own.

At three and a half years old, William is now able to attend preschool full-time. “The results are just phenomenal,” William’s mother has commented, “It’s just amazing how independent he has become since he’s started Conductive Education. William is such a hard worker. We are very proud of all of the accomplishments he has made.”

Thanks to Conductive Education at Sara’s Garden, Will has a much brighter future. No matter what you’ve been told, there is hope… and Conductive Education can help you find it.

Sara’s Garden Chosen For 2011 “Making A Difference Awards”!

We’re excited to announce that the Northwest State Community College Foundation has chosen us as one of its recipients of the 2011 Making a Difference Awards!

The Making a Difference Awards are presented annually to those who have displayed an ongoing dedication and commitment towards contributing to bettering the quality of life in the communities around Northwest Ohio.

The 2011 recipients to be recognized:

Individual: Dean Spangler
Business: Farmers & Merchants State Bank
Organization: Sara’s Garden

It’s a true honor for us to be mentioned along with such great individuals and businesses.

Sara’s Garden Helps Individuals Adapt

Article published Tuesday, March 1, 2011 by the Northwest Signal

Wauseon – Sara’s Garden recently spread awareness for Conductive Education, which teaches individuals with neuromotor disabilities to be able to adapt to and function in their environment.

National Conductive Education Day was Thursday, and Sara’s Garden offered the community an opportunity to learn about the program and observe a session in progress.

Conductor-Teacher Kasey C. Gray explained Sara’s Garden was inspired by Sara and Jay Burkholder and specializes in both Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Conductive Education. On March 15, 2002, Sara gave birth to the couple’s first child, and Jackson was delivered by emergency cesarean section. Sara passed away several hours later, and Jackson was diagnosed with cerebral palsy due to lack of oxygen during the delivery.

As his family worked together to locate alternate options to help Jackson despite being told he would not improve, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Conductive Education were discovered. However, these treatments were not offered locally, so the family founded the center so services would be available locally.

Gray explained there are 30 Conductive Education centers in the Association for Conductive Education in North America. The program works for those with motor skill disorders such as cerebral palsy but can also be beneficial for those with spina bifida, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, stroke and traumatic brain injury.

“We focus on the whole person, not just the symptoms of the disorder,” she said, adding the goal is to increase independence through self-care skills such as eating and going to the bathroom, social and emotional skills to interact more with others and verbalize and fine motor skills.

Conductive Education was first developed in Hungary, and there are only four places – Hungary, Israel, the United Kingdom and Grand Rapids, Mich., at Aquinas College – which train the technique. Gray attended Aquinas and she is also an elementary teacher and intervention specialist in addition to being trained in Conductive Education.

There is currently an after-school program offered at Sara’s Garden with the assistance of a 21st Century Grant through Wauseon Schools, but enrollment is not limited to only Wauseon students. The grant covers tuition and paraprofessionals to assist during the program.

There are typically three to five in attendance at the program, which meets four days a week for two hours a day. When the students arrive, they eat a snack, go to the bathroom and participate in a lying program, where ambulatory skills such as rolling over, sitting up and using their arms are emphasized. From there, they break off into smaller groups such as actions in the sitting position, bending and stretching elbows, improving feet movements and participating in a standing program.

“They are daily routines, but it evolves with them as they improve,” Gray noted.

The current morning session includes two children between 3-4 years old who meet three days during the week. Their routine includes using a plinth table, which has slats to allow gripping because it is difficult for many to do so on a flat surface, rolling over, sitting up and working on eating skills and potty training, as well as standing and sitting programs.

Additional programming, including for adults, is available upon request.

Several parents have recoded testimonials to how the treatments have helped their children improve beyond their expectations. For example, one mother noted an exercise where the arm is lifted over the head leads to the practical use of being able to brush hair and put on a shirt.

“We want to get the word out,” she said. “We hope more people will have access to what we’re doing.”

The nonprofit organization is funded by donations, grants and fees charged by services.

“That helps us keep our heads above the water,” Gray explained of the fees.

Various fundraisers are held throughout the year, and the Eighth Annual Sara’s Garden Poker Run is set for June 4, with all proceeds going to the center.

Omira is Overcoming Her List of Nevers

Weighing in at only one pound seven ounces, Omira was born at just 25 weeks of gestation (Babies are not considered full-term until 37 weeks). Omira spent the first three months of her life in an incubator, and was in the hospital for a total of four months before finally getting to come home.

While in the hospital, a great deal of damage was done to Omira’s vocal cords. The doctors informed Adelina, Omira’s mother, that Omira would never be able to talk. In fact, Adelina was given a long list of ‘nevers’… things that Omira would never be able to accomplish… walking, talking, potty training… Even with this bleak prognosis of what her life would be like and despite exhibiting all of the telltale developmental delays. it wasn’t until Omira was 2 years old that she was finally diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy.

Omira immediately began receiving the traditional treatment for cerebral palsy – physical and occupational therapy – one to two times each week. This went on for three years, with the family seeing very little progress in Omira’s development.

Finally, when Omira was 3½ years old and about to enter preschool, she was referred to the Conductive Education Program at Sara’s Garden by school administrators. When she arrived at Sara’s Garden to attend her first CE session, her little body was curled up into itself. She was completely unable to bear any weight on her legs or use them purposefully. She did not speak… in fact, she actually cried for the entirety of her first session (2 hours a day, 4 days a week for 4 whole weeks). She showed no interest in peers, teachers, or participating in any physical activity.

Then an amazing thing happened, Omira began to change. She stuck with the program and began to develop in every aspect – socially, emotionally, intellectually, and physically. The crying stopped too. Omira began to use short, two-word phrases to express her wants and needs. She began showing interest and excitement toward attempting new physical tasks. After one year in the Conductive Education program, Omira’s mother commented, “Now I can see my daughter.”

This child who came to Sara’s Garden with a list of ‘nevers’ continues to learn and develop and cross items off that ‘never’ list she was given… her mother is constantly amazed and says, “She has learned to do things that we never expected her to do.”

Omira now stands behind a ladder supporting her own body weight with only minimal supervision. She is in the early stages of learning to take steps with the help of an adult. She sits independently on a stool with no supports or straps. She now speaks in complete, polite sentences like, “I would like the pink cup, please.” Omira participates fully in the group routine and enjoys taking on a leader role. She has developed facial expressions and uses them appropriately.

“We are very pleased to be in a special place like this,” Omira’s mother has commented. Since we started coming to Sara’s Garden, I love it here. They have worked with her very well and she has progressed a lot!”

Thanks to Conductive Education at Sara’s Garden, Omira has a much brighter future. No matter what you’ve been told, there is hope… and Conductive Education can help you find it.

Conductive Education at Sara’s Garden

Article published Wednesday, May 7, 2008 by the Archbold Buckeye

Since the summer of 2006, Sara’s Garden has welcomed special educators from Hungary, called conductors, to lead its Conductive Education program.

Anna Baranyi, who came to the U.S. in November 2007, is the third and current conductor at the facility.

Conductive Education

Sara’s Garden is a non-profit center, originally opened in 2005 to administer hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which has proven beneficial to people with a variety of problems, including brain injuries.

Sara’s Garden expanded its offerings to include Conductive Education (CE), a system of education for people with physical disabilities that stem from brain injury. It was pioneered in 1945 by Andras Peto, a Hungarian doctor, in Budapest.

Conductive education is based on the idea that despite any damage to the central nervous system, the body has the ability to form new neural connections. This comes through the process of active learning, with the guided help of a conductor. These conductors attend a four-year university program at the Peto Institute in Budapest, the only one of its kind in the world.

CE helps individuals with brain injuries such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and other muscle-control problems.

This approach targets children under the age of six, because those are the ages when CE can have its greatest impact. Through CE, a child can gain higher levels of independence.

Sara’s Garden

As a conductor, Baranyi works hard with her ten clients, ages 1-14 years. By using a walking ladder, steps, plinth tables, mirrors, balls, and other items, she helps children retrain their brains.

“I teach the kids to use their body for everyday movements: open the door, put the shirt on, grab the cup and feed themselves on their own,” she said.

Being a conductor is a physically challenging job. It’s hard on the body because conductors are on the floor, maneuvering children while supporting their body weight.

Baranyi said, “Sometimes I’m extremely tired and I think, ‘You know what, I can’t do this.’ I have a couple days’ rest and I say ‘OK, I can’t stop.'” Because it’s so demanding, she jokes that, “when I become an old lady I would like to teach.”

Baranyi thinks the Sara’s Garden facility is “a blessing. It’s a wonderful place. I wish I had this place in my hometown.”

So what brought her here? “God was speaking to me: ‘Go and encourage the people there, the kids, the parents, and the people around me.’ That was His purpose.”

She plans to go to Hungary in June for a vacation, but already realizes that she is a different person since being here.

“I will go home, but not as the same person as when I came. There are many changes in me and I’m so glad God uses me.”

Client Progress

The earlier a child receives CE the better chance he has for good improvement. Its approach is not just about motor function development. It is also about the physical, intellectual and social requirements needed for developing a healthy personality.

The goal is to improve the general attitude of the child from “I can’t do this” to seeing himself with no limitations and a better self-esteem.

Measuring progress is different for each client. Some children come three or four times a week. Others come once a week. Some of this depends on how far away the families live. The more often they can come, the better chance of improvement.

When the children use Sara’s Garden’s hyperbaric chamber, they make more progress because, “it just pushes them forward.

“Also, we are praying for every kid every hour. We believe that God’s hands are on us and He can bless us,” she said.

Baranyi Adapts To American Life

As a young Hungarian woman working in a different country, Anna Baranyi faces many challenges.

Her job as a conductive education teacher, or conductor, at Sara’s Garden hyperbaric treatment center in Wauseon has its own challenges.

Learning the English language and culture can be difficult as well. Fortunately, her faith and her sense of humor have helped her overcome many obstacles.

Baranyi comes from a town similar in size to Wauseon. She graduated from the Peto Institute in Budapest in 2005.

Being the first person to become a conductor in her hometown, she said, “OK Lord, I’m going to try the U.S. That was one of my dreams.”

A Virginia consulting firm helped Baranyi find her job at Sara’s Garden. She is here on an 18-month work visa.

Living in America

Baranyi enjoys the attitude of the people.

“People are so free and flexible; they don’t complain. There are many friendly people and they want to help,” she said.

Learning English has been a little difficult because the Hungarian and English languages are so different from each other.

“I just ask people to correct me because I would like to speak well. The most troubling parts are the slangs and the idioms, but I really like them,” Baranyi said.

How does she like our food? She laughed and said, “I’m so hungry for Hungarian food!

My favorite American food is barbeque on the grill, salads, peanut butter . . . and I’m a pumpkin pie fan.”

She isn’t impressed with fast food, however.

Although there are some holidays that Americans and Hungarians celebrate, Baranyi is slightly confused by holidays such as President’s Day.

“Why do you celebrate the presidents?”

Since it was a national holiday she jokingly asked for the day off, but didn’t receive it. She is also really looking forward to celebrating Independence Day for the first time, because she “knows it’s a big deal here.”

What the Future Holds

When Baranyi’s visa expires in April 2009 she would like to continue to work as a conductor, possibly in Hungary.

“I feel sorry for my hometown because they need my help, but there is no place, equipment, or financial help” for a facility like Sara’s Garden.

She would consider a job in Europe. She will return home and then reapply for another visa if she wishes to return to the U.S.

Baranyi’s faith is what motivates her. She said, “I can’t stop. It’s just a gift that doesn’t come from me. I’m just a weak human and God wants to do something through me. “The reason why I do this is because I love the kids.”

Sara’s Garden Now Offers Additional Therapy

It is so hard to believe that July is nearly over. This has been an exciting month here at Sara’s Garden!

The 2014 summer camp got off to an exciting start on July 7th. A total of 38 students from 9 states across the country arrived with their parents in anticipation of many positive gains. The children were able to participate in one of three programs or a combination of the three programs. Families are offered Autism Interventions, Sensory Integration, and Conductive Education services. Some families also choose to take part in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy treatments.

This amounts to a long, full day for these little warriors. They are working so hard!

The children have faced new challenges and high expectations. Along with new challenges and high expectations come struggles for these children. Needless to say, the first few days were difficult for them, but by the end of the first week we were already seeing significant changes and gains. The children began to trust the teachers, aides, and conductors and appeared to realize that these people really will help them to reach their independent potential.

Thus, we have children who are taking steps for the first time, increasing head control or sitting independently. One child walked with a walker by herself for the first time in her life. Another student took 50 steps without support from anyone. There has been less stemming, better focus, and the ability of some students to control negative behaviors.

Another significant component of this year’s camp has been the positive relationship building which is taking place between students. Friendships are being established which is huge for our students and parents. Without a doubt, the first half of summer camp has been so uplifting for all of us.

We can’t wait to see what the children are able to accomplish by the end of camp on August 1st.

Raven Alumni Softball Game Honors Sara’s Garden

The Anderson University alumni softball team honored Sara’s Garden during their homecoming alumni game on Saturday, October 8, 2005 by wearing Sara’s Garden t-shirts for their jerseys. The alumni won 10-5 extending their winning streak to 4 years over the current Raven team.

Mind And Muscle

Article published May 13, 2005 5:51pm ET by CBS

Blaine Mayo is an 8-year-old boy with a wonderful smile, but he’s a boy who cannot walk, stand or use his arms. Blaine was born with cerebral palsy.

In America, about 8,000 children are born with cerebral palsy each year. Their brains are damaged at birth, usually because of a temporary lack of oxygen. Cerebral palsy breaks the connection between mind and muscle.

Most often, children with cerebral palsy, like Blaine, settle into wheelchairs for the rest of their lives. But, as Correspondent Scott Pelley reported this winter, Blaine’s parents are doing something extraordinary.

They’ve moved half a world away to a place where wheelchairs lie motionless and children with cerebral palsy rise. They believe Blaine will walk. And they’ve rejected the advice offered by their American doctors.

“It’s basically, ‘Let’s sit him in a chair. Let’s strap him up. And let’s adapt everything around him so that he doesn’t have to work very hard,’” says Blaine’s mother, Lesley. “Which is all well and good. Except then you end up with a child that can sit in a wheelchair and can’t do anything for himself.”

Blaine was born with one of the most severe forms of cerebral palsy. He has almost no control of his legs, his arms, even his jaw. At 4, he was unable to eat or even sit up by himself.

Lesley says that doctors told her Blaine would probably never walk on his own: “Never. Not functionally. So there was no point in trying. But over here, of course, the first thing they mentioned was this child can walk.”

The Peto Institute is in Budapest, Hungary – 5,000 miles from the Mayos’ home in Alabama. Lesley and her father, Robert Dillard, who took an early retirement, are here with Blaine. Blaine’s father stayed behind to work.

They don’t have jobs here, and they don’t speak the language. But they see no other alternative. “Either you stay at home and you accept less for your son, or you bite the bullet and ask to raise money and bring yourself over here,” says Lesley.

Blaine is able to work at something, developed at the Peto Institute, called conductive education. The teachers (called conductors) show the children how to move, and for eight hours a day, five days a week, they repeat the routines to near exhaustion.

The idea is this: If the brain is forced to try, it will find a way to connect mind and muscle.

Right now, Blaine is trying to learn to walk. Holding himself up on a ladderback chair, he’s pushing with his eyes on the prize. His mom is 40 feet away. The muscles he can control are all in his face. And everything about his struggle is written there.

While other American moms are cheering at soccer games, Lesley is beaming encouragement to get her son another fraction of an inch. His foot on the right side of the screen is lifting, and he’s pulling the heel up — the beginning of a step.

All he has to do is push with the ball of his foot. But he’s caught in the middle. Finishing the step takes more strength than he has.

In the early days, did Lesley have any second thoughts? “Yeah, the first week,” says Lesley. “It’s funny though. You care for your child and you don’t want to see your child go through that, but you’ve seen how the other children have come out the other side. So at that point, if you want the honest truth, you’re going, ‘Gosh, I wish he could do this, and I wouldn’t have to watch.’”

Parents like Lesley have been watching their children in the Peto Institute for nearly 60 years. Americans haven’t heard about it because most of its time it was hidden in the shadow of the Iron Curtain.

Just after World War II, a Hungarian doctor by the name of Andras Peto decided to challenge cerebral palsy to a fight over every kid who was destined for a wheelchair. Peto thought that just because a child was born with brain damage, it didn’t necessarily mean that he was incapable of learning skills that might lead to an independent life.

Today, 1,500 children are there from all over the world. The institute takes in any child under the age of 3 and older kids without severe learning disabilities. Training costs $60 a day for kids who travel there to enroll for months at a time. Results take years, but kids help each other with skills and maybe a little encouragement.

Jill Anderson traveled to the Peto Institute from England when she realized her infant daughter, Olivia, wasn’t able to move like other children.

Olivia has been there for nearly two years, and she can sit up, crawl and stand. “She actually took her first steps last week here, 10 steps on her own,” says Jill. “It was a very emotional time.”

It’s the intensity of the Peto approach that makes it different from other therapies. Back in the United States, kids may get occupational or physical therapy. But most often, it’s only for an hour or two a week. Parents are expected to follow up at home.

But at the Peto Institute, conductors, who have been trained in this program for years, spend 40 hours a week with the children.

Ildiko Kozma, director of the Peto Institute, makes an extraordinary claim of success for kids who start the program before they’re 3 years old: “Between the ages of six months and 3-4 years of age, 80 percent of these children will go to a normal elementary school.”

“They won’t be dancers, they won’t be people whose first activity is moving, but they will live a normal, average human life,” says Kozma.

Normal, average life is possible for many because half of all kids with cerebral palsy have a normal intellect, so they can learn like any other child. It’s only the muscles that fail them.

Most of the time, it’s hard work on hard wood for these kids. A group of six-month olds may be ready for a nap, but instead, they’re working on a table called a plinth. Peto modeled it on a Nazi concentration camp bunk with little cushion or comfort. The idea is to force a child like Blaine to feel the movement — a controlled and constructive use of pain.

“He [Blaine] has bruises. All the kids have them and they laugh about them, because they’ve been working so hard,” says Blaine’s mother, Lesley.

“It’s a hard surface, and I know it’s difficult on him, but it makes him want to do the exercises quicker and get off of there. It makes him want to do them right so he’s finished with it. Everything they’re doing on the plinth is strength and flexibility, which he needs both of.”

Blaine’s been there six months, and he’s been working along side a 14-year-old American girl named Havia Quereshi, whose family immigrated to North Carolina from Pakistan.

Havia’s legs are every bit as impaired as Blaine’s. At 4, Havia was unable to walk, and unable to lift her shoulders off the couch. Her father, Amir, says the American doctors gave her a grave prognosis: “They told me that your child is never sit by herself — her life expectation, 20 to 25 years.”

Amir had been watching his daughter in the Peto Institute for four years, and this year, she’s walking to her seventh-grade classes in public school back in the United States. She has an aide who walks with her from class to class. She has trouble talking, so a lot of her work is done on the computer. But despite all of that, her father told 60 Minutes that Havia is an “A” student.

“Now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope that she will become independent,” says Amir. “Maybe it takes two year, or three year. That way, she’s progressing, I can wait few more years that she become independent.”

Parents like Amir, who see children taking impossible steps, are Peto’s greatest believers. But the American medical establishment is skeptical.

Dr. Carolyn Green, who treats kids with cerebral palsy in Cleveland, says there hasn’t been a long-term, independent study of Peto.

“There is literature from there. It’s very positive. It’s almost suspiciously positive. And I don’t mean that they are falsifying data. That’s not what I mean at all,” says Green.

“It feels too good to be true when you look at it. When I look at that question a little bit more, because I have seen it with my own eyes, and it is effective, it is wonderful. I probably wouldn’t use as strong positive descriptions as I’ve seen some of the literature that comes from its home country.”

But what Green is seeing is the development of conductive education in America. There are now programs in 20 states. A few of Green’s patients are enrolled at the United Cerebral Palsy Wolstein Center in Cleveland. They’re working with Peto-trained “conductors” from Budapest 15 hours a week — not because their doctors prescribed it, but because their parents demanded it.

But parents like Lesley Mayo, who have been frustrated by limits set in America, are finding hope in Budapest.

“I don’t think they see limits. They give you time frames. I mean, they do. They said in two or three years, your child will walk,” says Lesley Mayo. “And I totally believe that.”