It’s a very special day for one little girl from Bismarck. Her life is about to change. BriCanna Hjelmstad has always relied on her parents to help her get around but not anymore.
A new custom-made walker is helping her take more steps than she ever has in her entire life. “We’re trying to get her to where she’s a little more independent because she likes to be held. She still acts sometimes like a newborn baby,” Lorie Hjelmstad says. BriCanna was born with an extremely rare disorder. Her mother Lorie says she’s 1 of only 2 cases ever reported in the world. The disorder caused a triplication of her 8th chromosome and has severely stunted her growth.
“She also has pituitary dwarfism. She has no growth hormones,” Lorie says. At one and a half years old, BriCanna is less than half of what she should weigh and still wears infant-sized clothing. But now, thanks to her physical therapist and brand new walker, decked out in camo and pink sparkles, BriCanna can start getting around on her own.
“That’s one of the best things about being a pediatric physical therapist is when you see little girls like BriCanna be able to be independent and to do things that they weren’t able to do when they first started coming for therapy,” Dr. Cara Mitzel, with CHI St. Alexius Physical Therapy says. The walker will help support BriCanna’s weight while she moves and will hold her up when her legs get too tired to keep going.
Dr. Mitzel says she has made incredible progress in just the past few weeks, and now the Hjelmstad’s get to bring the new walker home to continue practicing every day. So that one day, little BriCanna can take steps on her own without any help from a walker. The Hjelmstad’s are hoping to take a trip to the Little People of America conference to learn more about BriCanna’s disorder.
However, they’re struggling to afford it while trying to keep up with all of the medical bills. If you would like to help out, you can check out their page at GoFundMe.com/BriCannasBlessings
KXNews
Macy Egeland Reporting