FULTON, Md. — At the Kennedy Krieger’s International Center for Spinal Cord Injury, if you want some cake, you're going to have to prove you can make it too.
WATCH: Kennedy Krieger Occupational Therapists help patients cook up a chocolatey treat
Photojournalist Kristi Harper followed along as one of their occupational therapists tasked Sally with a chocolatey challenge.
"I had to do a day at a time."
Sally, though retired, is a teacher through and through.
“I was a biology teacher.”
But life has thrown a lot at her. Like multiple sclerosis.
Sally, "I've been dealing with it since '98. So now, this is a new challenge. Brain cancer."
She noticed some changes to her eyesight that just didn't feel right. Her doctors discovered a cancerous mass in her head.
"The diagnosis is officially primary central nervous system lymphoma."
While Sally and her husband, Dean, were waiting for test results, things suddenly changed.
Sally remembers, "We were sitting at home, and he's like 'well you ready to go'? And I tried to get up out of a chair. And I could almost get up out of the chair, but I was like, "Whoa." I'm not in control of my legs, or my body, or my balance. I've got to sit back down."
The cancer had robbed her of basic movement. So Sally was referred for occupational therapy here at Kennedy Krieger’s brand new practice suite.
That's where teacher Taylor Reichart comes in.
"One of her goals was to be able to stand and cook again because she used to do it all the time for her husband."
Sally: “You want to win my husband over? Make him something chocolate.”
While Sally works to make her cake, Taylor challenges her in various ways in the safe environment of the practice suite.
Taylor is well versed in where Sally excels: "She can do some standing already at home. But now we gotta work on the balance a little bit more. We've got to work on the tolerance."
With features like countertops and cabinets that can raise and lower, Taylor works with patients to move with and even past their physical challenges.
Taylor says real-life challenges are the best practice. "Engaging in occupations that you want and need to do is way better than just doing repetitions of exercises."
Strengthening Sally's arms, legs, balance, and coordination, all while getting back to the baking Sally loves. All with Taylor watching her progress. "So she was able to tolerate a lot longer of a standing position and the things I was doing to her, which would normally make her react, and she would get nervous. But she was so into the task that we're targeting everything that I wanted to in the session…you know. It's a lot more fun."
Fun getting Sally a step closer back to being long and tall. Sally, "It's fun. It makes me think more things are possible."
