Francesca - A Success Story

Francesca, from Rome, Italy, and her fellow quintuplets were born by emergency Cesarean section in November 1987, two months prior to their expected due date. Francesca was clearly in distress following the birth and received low Apgar scores.

By the age of fifteen months it was obvious that Francesca had developmental problems, as she could not stand or walk. Her legs were rigid and she could not bear her own weight in the upright position.

In October 1990, when Francesca was three years old, her parents took the What To Do About Your Brain-Injured Child Course and undertook The Institutes Intensive Treatment Program. After an enormous amount of hard work by Francesca and her parents, the young girl took her first independent steps at five years of age, and by the age of six she could walk a mile nonstop and was beginning to run and learn gymnastic skills.

Prior to becoming a graduate to life in October 1996, Francesca completed the Evan Thomas Institute Triathlon, comprised of 400 meters of swimming, 10 kilometers of biking, and 5 kilometers of running.

In the fall of 1996, Francesca entered school with her peers and easily assimilated into the class. She attended fifth grade and did very well, with geography and science as her favorite subjects. As her Italian teacher explained, when Francesca answers questions it is clear that she is above age level in intelligence.

After entering school Francesca continued to maintain her physical excellence by swimming, running, and stretching. One of her favorite activities is horseback riding, and she won a first-place cup for her ability to control her horse and maintain perfect posture while riding.

As Francesca continued to take the final steps towards full graduation from the program, her family began the Intensive Treatment Program with Michela, another of the quintuplets. Michela, also brain-injured at birth, attempts to walk using the overhead ladder while Francesca and her three other siblings–Eleanora, Alessandro, and Federico–cheered her on.

They and their parents have seen the wonderful results earned by Francesca and are intent on creating the same success with her sister.

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THE INSTITUTES FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT OF HUMAN POTENTIAL®
10 YEARS OF REPORTING VICTORIES

Major Victories Achieved by 1,999 Brain-Injured Children 1998-2007

Click on one of the heading links to find out more about how The Institutes defines that type of Victory.

MOBILITY

CRAWLING

Of the 713 children who were unable to move, 305 (43%) crawled for the first time. In short, they went from being paralyzed to being able to crawl across a room.

CREEPING

Of the 364 children who were unable to creep, 246 (68%) began to creep for the first time. This is to say that they defied gravity to move to the third dimension and now get all over the house on hands and knees.

WALKING

Of the 358 children who were unable to walk, 184 (51%) began to walk without help for the first time.

RUNNING

Of the 430 children able to walk but not run, 249 (58%) learned to run for the first time.

SEEING

Of the 230 children who were blind, 200 (87%) saw for the first time and 168 children learned to read.

HEARING

Of the 103 children who were deaf, 95 children (92%) heard for the first time.

UNDERSTANDING

Of the 826 children whose comprehension was not yet equal to that of the average three-year-old, 758 children (92%) were able to understand at least as well as a three-year-old for the first time.

READING

Of the 1,079 children who were unable to read, 1,063 children (99%) read for the first time.

TALKING

Of the 838 children who were unable to speak, 403 (48%) spoke for the first time.

WRITING

Of the 514 children who were unable to write, 141 (27%) wrote for the first time.

HEALTH

Of 1,198 children who were on the program for at least 12 months, 351 (29%) achieved perfect health for at least 12 consecutive months. Of these, 134 had no illness for more than 24 months, and one has had no illness for 12 years 3 months.

DETOXIFICATION

Of the 446 children who were on anticonvulsant medication, 332 (74%) were completely and successfully detoxified. Of the remaining children, 26 are in the process of complete detoxification.

GRADUATION TO LIFE BY PARENTS

Forty-five children were graduated to life by their parents. (They ranged in age from 19 months to 32 years 5 months).

GRADUATION TO LIFE

Thirty-three children were graduated to life by The Institutes staff. (They ranged in age from 12 months to 28 years 3 months.)

FULL GRADUATION

Eight children graduated from the Home Program. (They ranged in age from 6 years 3 months to 17 years 5 months.)

See article on: What is a Victory?