Horseback riding and Special Olympics help stroke victim

Kate Keehner is a known in Monona as a reflexologist, but some people might not know that she is also an advocate of something near and dear to her heart.

 

Kate’s granddaughter, Emerson, was swimming in Billings, MT, at the age of eight, when a tragic event happened.

Emerson had just finished her winter swimming lessons when she suffered a stroke. She was rushed to the hospital and had to be transported via air to a children’s hospital in Denver, CO. However, since there was a raging blizzard going on, the helicopter could not take off for three hours since it had to wait for the weather to break. When Emerson did reach the hospitalin Denver, she had lost all function in the right side of her body and some parts of her left side.

 

The cause of the stroke came from her swimming. Kate explained that when children are taught to swim, they are told how to hold their breath but not to exhale. This can lead to build up of carbon monoxide in the brain, which can cause strokes.

 

About a year after her stroke Emerson had gone through therapies and discovered horse therapy.

Equestrian therapy is treatment where someone with mental or physical disabilities is placed with a highly trained horse that helps them with many different aliments. They are used by a variety of therapy professionals.

 

 

Once Emerson took up horseback riding, there was a large improvement in her condition. Now, at the age of 12, she has most of her right side back and her left side has mostly returned to normal. She still has problems with her right ankle, hip and hand but is otherwise improving all the time. According to Kate, she is not expected to make a full recovery, but the work that is being done has helped her.

 

Read the full story in the Wednesday, June 7, 2017 edition of The Outlook.