When Macie McHale was born
just four years ago, her parents had the same pride and
excitement as any other family. But just as quickly as the
joy came, so did fear, when Lori and George learned of
their daughter's heart condition.
With this congenital heart ailment, there was no alternative
for her family, so they made a trip to the Pediatric
Hospital at Hershey where Macie had open heart surgery.
In just a few days, Macie was being released to home. Like a miracle, four days later, Macie was able to stand up in her crib! For weeks, her condition was closely monitored. Prior to her surgery, Macie was able to utter words such as “mama and dada”. Nearly a year later, her speech and communication abilities were not developing at all.
Macie was diagnosed with Apraxia—an oral/developmental
disability. This diagnosis was devastating to the family. Macie
had significant oral challenges (for example eating non-food
items) and there was the potential that she would never be
able to talk again.
Macie's pediatrician, Dr.Vincent Ross, then referred her to Allied Services Pediatric Program. At nearly three years of age, Macie began speech and language therapy with Paul Harrington and occupational therapy with Lynn Dunay at Allied Services.
Through months of therapy and countless hours of at-home support, the advancements and progress since Macie’s start in therapy have been “miraculous”! Lori, Macie's mom, said that Macie’s entire life schedule now revolves around therapy at Allied. Macie now speaks, (sometimes too much, according to Lori) and has blossomed into an active, expressive young girl.