For seven years, Cate Capps, 9, has traveled to Birmingham from Elba, Ala. on her school breaks, but not to see the sights.
Cate participates in a specialized program, called Constraint Induced Motion therapy, to strengthen her right arm. Cate has cerebral palsy, which affects her mobility and fine motor functions, and complicates simple tasks like eating, writing or putting up her hair.Â
“It’s hard to ask for help and having a child with a disability or illness changes everything,” Nichole says. “Unless you grow up close to someone with a disability, you have no idea how much support you need so I couldn’t imagine life without our therapists and the Ronald McDonald House.”
Your support of the Ronald McDonald House gives them the support Nichole needs and has saved the family more than $23,000 over the 9 weeks they’ve called the House “home.”
Nichole and her husband, Cody, regularly evaluate what activities and treatments are helping Cate. After taking a year off in 2021, Cate and her mom have seen how much more she could improve with continued therapy. Her parents expect to keep Cate in the CI program for several more years.
“Unfortunately because of her CP, Cate will never have full function in her arm,” her mom, Nichole, says. “I worry about her keeping up with her peers now that she’s getting older. At least now we can talk to her about these things and she can understand more of her disability and help her set goals for her life,” Nichole says.
Pushing herself mentally and physically in therapy has gotten more difficult as the years go by and that’s why having the Ronald McDonald House is so important to her success.
“Cate is very aware of her CP and it’s something she struggles with. So the House has become her home. She doesn’t like going to therapy but she knows she needs it. She looks forward to being at the House and I see that it takes the anxiety off of her, which helps her focus on her therapy,” Nichole says. “She knows she is loved here.”
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