Matyášek’s Story
Matyášek was born in the 35th week of pregnancy and is our “long-awaited” child after many problems. He had underdeveloped lungs and severe jaundice, but after 3 weeks in the ICU, we took him home with great joy. Like all ICU children, he had many examinations. Everything seemed fine.
After about six weeks, I noticed that he wasn’t lying straight but was curving and arching his head back. When I read the book The Tender Arms of Parents, I found a picture of a child curled into a “C” shape, which mentioned the Vojta method. I didn’t want to wait and contacted Mgr. Krucký.
On the day of the consultation, the news was devastating. Our two-month-old son was at the level of a newborn. It was a bolt from the blue; I cried all the way home and the entire weekend. My husband helped me cope. Looking back, we had no idea of the danger. We just wanted Matyášek to be okay!
So we started the Vojta method. Initially with one exercise, 4 times a day. We were very responsible from the start. After 3 weeks, the first progress was visible. Mgr. Krucký pleased us by saying Matyášek maintained long eye contact and was clearly bright.
Exercises increased, and I realized Vojta-ing isn’t easy. I always had to plan the day to fit in 4 sessions. Many thought we were overreacting. We had family support, though some couldn’t watch the exercises. Practicing was often accompanied by loud crying.
Everything went well until I was rushed for surgery. After the separation, Matyášek’s development stopped and regressed. Newborn reflexes returned. A serious neurological problem was suspected. After a month of high stress, a serious diagnosis was fortunately not confirmed.
By the 6th month, Matyášek finally began to support himself on his tummy properly. What joy! At 8 months, he started crawling. When I asked if he would ever walk, the answer was “we don’t know yet.” I began to realize we were fighting cerebral palsy. This gave me even more determination.
By the 9th month, practicing became physically hard. Matyášek fought us. My tendons hurt so much I had to bandage my hands at night. Two days before his 1st birthday, we received the best gift: the threat of cerebral palsy was gone! We were in total euphoria for days.
We continued practicing even during holidays. At 15 months, he finally crawled! By 16 months, he took independent steps. At 17 months, Matyášek began to walk! After 16.5 months of intensive therapy (nearly 2000 sessions!), we switched to maintenance exercise.
