Annie Nason

I was diagnosed with Spastic Monoplegia Cerebral Palsy at the age of two as a result of being born seven weeks prematurely. My CP is very mild, and predominantly affects my left leg, which required me to wear a brace and do regular physical therapy. My muscles were constantly tight. When I was five years old, my mother received advice that would change my life, “Take Annie to Hospital for Special Surgery. They are the best!” Boy, was that an understatement! Fast forward about fourteen years, during my freshman year of college, as I found myself back at HSS for my yearly follow up with Dr. Root. Up until this point, CP had been very good to me physically, but I went through my teenage years constantly saying to myself, “I wish my limp would just go away!!!” I had spent my high school years singing and dancing on the stage, and loved performing. I was lucky Cerebral Palsy never really got in my way, but as time went on, I began to notice my muscles becoming tighter, even with constant stretching and different treatment interventions. On top of that, I never could quite get the fact that I had CP out of my head, which made me incredibly self conscious. My biggest dream was still that one day I’d be able to walk without limping. I was lucky enough to have never needed any orthopedic surgery, but as a busy college student who was beginning to struggle moving around the huge campus of her dream school, I knew it was time to see what could be done.

Dr. Root referred me to his colleague Dr. Scher, who was also a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon at HSS. The first step was to determine my specific walking patten so we could get an idea of how Cerebral Palsy uniquely affected my muscles. The day I went for my Gait Analysis at the Leon Root Motion Analysis Lab, was so cool! Sensors were put all over my body, and with the use of a 3-D Camera, the technicians filmed me as I walked back and forth across the room. I was able to see myself on a large screen as a walking animated figure. The technology was awesome. It honesty felt like I was in a movie!

The results of my gait analysis gave me the answer I had been hoping for over the past few years. I was a candidate for surgery! In some ways, I guess it’s a little odd being excited about going under the knife, but all I could think about from that point forward was that my dream of walking normally was going to come true! I made the decision with the help of both the doctor and my parents to have five of my muscles released, both hamstrings, my left calf, and both adductors. Doing so would give me the best chance at achieving a smooth gait with no pain. If I was going to pursue this dream of mine, I wanted to be all in!

About ten weeks later, on May 27th, 2014 my life would forever be made better by the team at HSS. After a mere two days in the hospital recovering, I was able to go home with a pink cast, walker, and a huge smile. There was now a fire inside me to reach my goal of walking better than I ever had, and I knew that with a positive attitude and perseverance, anything was possible.

The months since have been filled with amazing amounts of joy as I experienced the moments that were once only my daydreams. The first time I walked without my cast, I felt like I was floating. It was one of the best moments of my life! I overheard my father say to one of the nurses. “I’ve never seen her walk this well before!” I was so happy, I honestly could have kept down that hallway forever.

It has been almost a year since the day of my operation, and I wake up every morning feeling like I am on top of the world. I am no longer in any kind of pain, and my limp is gone, but what’s more is that I have found confidence I never knew I had. How many people can say their dream was made into a reality at nineteen years old? Thank you Hospital for Special Surgery for your amazing care. I am forever grateful for this journey that has made me a stronger and happier young woman, and for inspiring me to always keep putting one foot in front of the other.