ROAR for Kids 2023

Tripp enjoying the Therapy Garden at Kennedy Krieger while he was an inpatient in April 2022
Tripp enjoying the Therapy Garden at Kennedy Krieger while he was an inpatient in April 2022

Tripp's Trek

This year's ROAR for Kids Event is Saturday, April 29, 2023....exactly 1 year and 1 month since Tripp had his SDR surgery last year. He wasn't able to attend ROAR 2022 because he was still on the inpatient rehab floor at Kennedy Krieger Institute. But this year is DIFFERENT!

This year, Tripp plans to be at Oregon Ridge Park, in-person, to celebrate all that he has accomplished and to thank Kennedy Krieger Institute for all the amazing staff and resources that have helped Tripp over the past 3 years!  Please join us in celebrating and thanking Kennedy Krieger Institute either by joining our team (in-person or virtually) or by making a donation in Tripp's honor!!


<Read more about Tripp’s journey below>

This team is in honor & celebration of Lawrence Joseph III (a.k.a.Tripp)

Tripp is a sweet, loving, silly, inquisitive 5-year-old who loves reading, ABC's, numbers, Super Mario Bros, Zuma from Paw Patrol, Word Trip & Wordle and anything that is the color ORANGE!

Tripp made his grand entrance into this world nine weeks early when I (his momma) was sick in the hospital with some serious health issues. Rather than being born via C-Section so I could have emergency surgery, Tripp came out all on his own the night before—much to the surprise of everyone!! (Including his Daddy & Nonna who were home sleeping and missed everything!!)

Tripp was in great health for being born so early and after 35 days in the NICU, he came home! While Tripp was a little slow to meet some of his developmental milestones, like sitting up and walking, there was never much to be concerned about. It was just after Tripp's 2nd birthday in August 2019 that he started walking on his tiptoes and losing his balance. After several appointments with doctors and clinicians at Kennedy Krieger Institute, Tripp was diagnosed with a mild form of Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy in Summer 2020. Basically, this means he has tight muscles that mainly affect his two lower limbs. Tripp is pretty high functioning...he walks and runs without any assistive devices, although you can tell he has an abnormal gait. He struggles with stairs and jumping but it doesn't seem to bother him at all. Tripp has been a real trooper who has been fitted for seven different sets of leg braces since July 2020. He’s attended weekly outpatient PT sessions since June 2021 and received Botox injections in his legs in July 2021. 

Last year, on March 29, 2022, Tripp had Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) surgery. During this surgery, his surgeon identified and cut the nerves that were causing the tight muscles in his legs (known as spasticity). In doing this, the hope was for Tripp have better leg function & balance, less pain, and hopefully reduce his need for more orthopedic surgeries in the future. After surgery, Tripp spent six nights at Johns Hopkins Hospital and then was transferred to inpatient rehab at Kennedy Krieger Institute where he stayed for 5 weeks learning to walk properly while using his leg muscles again without depending on the tightness/spasticity he had felt since birth. Once he was released from inpatient rehab, Tripp then attended outpatient physical therapy 5 days a week for two months, followed by therapy 2-3 days a week for six months. 

I am excited to say that Tripp is doing AMAZING!! We really didn't expect to see any immediate results/improvements because Tripp was already walking independently. (We really expected it to be more of a long game...hoping it would help him as he grew older and taller!) But here we are, almost a year post-op and Tripp has better balance & coordination, is going up and down stairs like a champ and has increased endurance! We are now back to weekly PT sessions and trying to stay as active as possible!

We are so lucky to have a places like Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins Hospital right in our backyard. People travel from all over the country to receive services at these two internationally recognized children’s hospitals. I have worked at Kennedy Krieger for 20 years and always known what an amazing place it is. But now, as a parent, I have seen first-hand what a difference it makes to my family. I can’t say enough amazing things about this place!

This journey has certainly been a marathon....and we haven't crossed the finish line just yet!  We will all be there supporting Tripp every STEP of the way!

Please join us in supporting Tripp's Trek and Kennedy Krieger Institute!

 

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About ROAR for Kids

As we host our first in person event in two years, we hope you will join us on Saturday, April 30, 2022 for Kennedy Krieger Institute’s ROAR for Kids at Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville, MD. ROAR for Kids will once again feature a 5K run and a low-mileage fun walk, which participants may participate in virtually or in person. Additionally, back by popular demand, the event will host a family festival including princesses, carnival games, the VERY popular Mascot Challenge and more! Registration opens at 6:30AM with both races and the family festival kicking off at 8:00AM, the Mascot Challenge will take place around 9:45AM with the event ending around 11:00AM. We hope to see you there!

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