"Every step Sophia takes is a testament to the countless dedicated individuals who made it possible." Sophia and her family traveled from Arkansas to Minnesota for several major surgeries to treat her cerebral palsy.

For 125 years the doctors, nurses and employees at Gillette have worked every day to provide the very best care for all children. This dedication has led to treatments and outcomes that have influenced cerebral palsy care worldwide. 

When I was 2 years old, I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Now, I'm 23. I've faced many challenges in my life, but I think my dad said it best, "Inch by inch, life's a cinch. Yard by yard, life's hard." You can't get too caught up trying to project what the end result might be, all you can do is try to deal with the challenge in front of you, and move forward.

March is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. Gillette Children’s is the world-renowned leader in the treatment of cerebral palsy. We enhance the lives of individuals who have cerebral palsy and promote their well-being by improving diagnosis, management, and care through research, innovation, and collaboration. The Harkness family shares their story of why selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) surgery at Gillette was the best choice for their daughter.

On World Cerebral Palsy Day, Gillette Children’s Healthcare Press is pleased to highlight a book that combines medically rigorous medical information and the personal story of a mother searching for the best care for her son who is diagnosed with CP. Spastic Diplegia—Bilateral Cerebral Palsy is written by Lily Collison, an Ireland-based author and the mother of a Gillette Children’s patient.

"Grady’s so much more than his condition. The way we see it is that God gave us this incredibly cool kid who’s had to deal with a few things. We've had challenges, but life is good even when stuff is hard. Either way, because of Gillette and the care they provide, Grady's future will be whatever he decides it to be. That’s no small thing.”

Mpls. St. Paul Magazine recently released its “Top Doctors list,” which includes the names of 24 physicians from Gillette Children's. The magazine determines award recipients based on a survey sent to physicians each year, asking them to nominate one or more doctors (excluding themselves) whom they would visit if they or a loved one needed medical care.

They came to Gillette Children's with twice the hope. Twice the dreams. Twice the determination.The Bracho Diaz family left their native Venezuela eager for another round of expert care for their 10-year-old twin daughters Maria de los Angels and Maria Antonieta. Yes, identical twin sisters who share the name Maria and a diagnosis of spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy.

Rehabilitation therapy helps patients learn how to maximize their abilities and become familiar with new ways of moving. Locomotor training, a form of walking therapy that involves body weight support, can help eligible patients increase function in their lower extremities and improve their mobility.

There are few moments in life as exciting and anxiety-inducing as the day you have your first child, but for Andrew Bailey and his wife, Amanda, things were a bit more complicated. Amanda was home in Connecticut getting ready for her baby shower. Andrew, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, was in Seattle for an away game.

Wes Jackson is a thoughtful, kind and inquisitive kid. He also has cerebral palsy, but he won't let that (or anything else for that matter) get in his way. Get to know Wes and his family, you'll be glad you did.

Learn how a selective dorsal rhizotomy and single-event multilevel surgery (SEMLS) Gillette, along with her intrinsic determination, has led to newfound independence and confidence for Kaidyn.

“I don’t think it would surprise anyone to learn that a lot of children love dogs,” says Emily DeBreto. “While we’ve had volunteers bring in therapeutic dogs at the hospital for comfort, we wanted to get our dogs more involved with the actual functional aspects of the therapy we’re providing.”

In 2016, Connor Church finally went to his first Minnesota Twins baseball game. Even more exciting than that: His doctors at Gillette deemed him a Gait Lab Graduate. Meaning after more than 12 years and 30 procedures, Connor would spend the rest of his summers surgery-free.

After children who have cerebral palsy undergo rhizotomy surgery, they spend several weeks using something called a prone cart when they're not in therapy. Learn more about the prone cart and watch a virtual demonstration to see how it works.