We would like to say a great big “Thank You” to Kids Playing for Kids. Our daughter Morgan is 9 years old and this was her first year playing lacrosse. Kids Playing for Kids gifted us with a scholarship for her to gain confidence through sports.
When Morgan was 19 months old she fell and had her first big seizure. Over the next 2 years we had appointments with several doctors and medical teams to determine the cause of her seizures.
Morgan was diagnosed with a birth defect called Cortical Dysplasia in the right frontal lobe of her brain. After a week long stay at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital she was also diagnosed with 3 forms of epilepsy and a Chiari Malformation, which is another brain deficit. She was started on several medications and multiple tests and imaging scans were completed.
The neurosurgery team initially wanted to biopsy and test several areas in her brain.
However during her pre-op testing her neurosurgery team was concerned that the surgery would not be successful due to a number of potential complications.
During this time her neurologist recommended that Morgan attempt to play a team sport to help with anxiety as a result of her brain lesion.
Morgan’s first sport was soccer. She was apprehensive at first but it was helpful to her overall mood. Morgan continued to play soccer and the next year loved it. After playing for 4 seasons we were invited to play lacrosse. We were reluctant to accept the invitation initially due to the cost of starting this sport. Kids Playing for Kids gave Morgan a wonderful opportunity to learn a new sport and to be a team member with her peers and older girls.
Peer to peer activity is important to us because Morgan is homeschooled. Morgan has academic challenges including mirror dyslexia, But maybe her biggest challenge is her lack of working memory.
This lacrosse team and coaches were so patient and understanding. They would repeat themselves so many times without ever showing frustrations with her. The coaching staff and players worked so well together. The coaches were so encouraging to all the girls and they had a wonderful season as a team.
Without this scholarship from Kids Playing for Kids Morgan would not have been able to excel this season. She would not have been able to learn a new sport. She would not have had the opportunity to grow in skill and confidence on the lacrosse field. Thank you for impacting my daughters life forever. Kids Playing for Kids Rocks!
Sincerely,
Morgan P’s family