Ormond mom starts WalkAide fundraiser for son with cerebral palsy

Ormond Beach Observer
Neighbors

Though this four year old might be singin’ the blues, he’s anything but sad about his cerebral palsy.

Matthew McGrane isn’t like a lot of the kids his age, but not for the reasons you may think. The 4 year old has a very specific taste in music. Let’s just say “The Wheels on the Bus” is not on his playlist.

“I started singing blues to him when he was not even 2 years old,” his mother, Heather Eaton McGrane said. “It cracks me up because he’s this angel-faced 4 year old belting out this song by BB King called ‘Ghetto Woman.’ It’s fascinating.”

His love for blues and the people that created it go far beyond the songs themselves. His mother says he spends his time watching concert videos and documentaries about the early blues era. They even baked cookies on March 30, in honor of Eric Clapton’s birthday.

However, Mathew’s unique taste in music isn’t the only thing that separates him from his peers. He told The Observer, that he has a superpower: cerebral palsy.

“His power is that his brain and his muscles communicate in a very special way,” Heather Eaton McGrane said.

After being born two and a half months premature, Matthew was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and Periventricular leukomalacia, or PVL, when was just 1 year old. His diagnosis makes large and fine motor skills difficult. But, through physical therapy and other alternative methods, he’s been able to teach his brain how to do things like walk up the stairs and chew foods.

“It’s training the muscles to respond,” his mom said. “Things that we normally don’t have to think about doing, or that we learn through trial and error, Matthew has to learn to think about.”

Matthew’s next challenge is to teach his legs how to walk tall without braces, and without tripping, falling or slowing down through a device called WalkAide. This new electronic stimulation device will be customized to the 4 year old, and help him learn to walk to the best of his abilities.

Heather Eaton McGrane’s insurance may not cover the cost of the WalkAide, which has been the story for most of Matthew’s medical expenses. As a single mom working as an English professor at Daytona State College, she pays $8,000 to cover what insurance won’t, and the new device is an additional $5,000.

That’s why she set up a GiveForward campaign to raise money to pay for Matthew’s medical expenses and to raise money for the WalkAide, which she believes will majorly improve his movement and fatigue issues.

“The response has already been so overwhelming,” she said. “We’ve already raised $2,250 just from my friends and family alone.”

Visit her GiveFoward.com page to donate.

How to help

Heather Eaton McGrane has set up a Give Forward page to raise money for Matthew’s out-of-pocket medical expenses. People can donate to help the family with the following: