For the Barta family, they’ve seen brief moments at the top, giving birth to their son Dominic and loving on him for 4 blissful months. But in December 2020, everything changed, sending them plummeting down to the basement floor.

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” Cristina recounted. “One moment we had a smiling baby who was progressing normally and the next, Dominic was having his first seizure.” What followed the next couple months was a blur - Dominic being hooked up to every machine imaginable, being put through countless tests. “Things got really bad really quickly,” Cristina remembers. Dominic’s seizures constantly caused his oxygen levels to dip dangerously low, preventing him from leaving the hospital . “He was no longer the happy baby we had for months.” 

STUCK ON THE BASEMENT FLOOR

Life changed significantly for Cristina, Gheorghe, and Dominic. Doctors diagnosed Dominic with a long list of conditions, not least of which was polymicrogyria - a brain malformation characterized by excessive folds on the surface of the brain, causing seizures and developmental delays.

Dominic had stopped smiling, drinking, holding his head up. He was like a different child entirely. Brain surgery only 2 months after his first seizure was the only option. 

Cristina left her job to care for Dominic’s complex needs while Gheorghe carried the financial burden. The couple grieved for the dreams they had for their son but knew they had to do everything possible to give him his best life.

THE UPS AND DOWNS

In the months and years that followed his brain surgery, Dominic saw gains and comebacks followed by setbacks and failures. As Cristina tried different medications, doses, diets, and therapies, Dominic would regain some of his physical strength and abilities. Then he would go through periods of increased seizure activity and go back to what seemed like square one. As a result, Dominic is a 5-6 month old baby trapped in a 4 year old body. 

But one thing is for sure: Dominic is a resilient kid who will never give up. He fights for himself and so Cristina and Gheorghe feed off his strength to fight for him. 

After searching high and low for the right doctors and therapies for Dominic, Cristina found an intensive physical and occupational therapy program that saw Dominic make incredible strides forward. 

In just 3 weeks, Dominic was able to work up his endurance to complete 45 hours of therapy. And he started showing real results. For the first time in years, he was sitting up by himself, supporting his own weight, and even getting close to pushing himself up using his hands.

Through it all, Dominic smiles knowing those early doctors who counted him out never knew what he was capable of.

BREAKING THROUGH THE ROOF

Dominic’s story doesn’t end here, though. He’s been down in the basement for too long and fought too hard to move up throughout the years. The cool thing about his improvement is that the more endurance he demonstrates through therapy, the more his insurance company will cover. However, for him to reach his full potential, he could use a little extra boost from a community that likes to lift up the underdogs when they need it the most. 

Dominic just found out he’s going to be a big brother in a few months! And he wants to show his new sibling what he’s capable of. There’s a new therapy in Dominic’s own backyard of Atlanta, Georgia that could take his development to new levels. Thanks to the incredible donors at Chive Charities, we’ll be covering a 2 week intensive neuro and physical therapy at the NeuroSolution Center of Atlanta. The cutting edge therapy targets functional exercises combined with laser therapy to enhance specific parts of Dominic’s brain that previously have been “asleep.” The total impact is for $9,434.80 but it means so much more for the Barta Family.

“It may seem small to other people who are neurotypical,” Cristina explains. “But it is life-changing for us. The fact that Dominic is holding his own cup to drink. He is pushing himself up… I wish I could thank every single donor.”

Thanks to your help, Dominic is ascending to heights no one thought possible, except for the Barta’s of course. He’s officially breaking through that penthouse floor and there’s no stopping him now.

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