Roman Dinkel: Because I Can Give Hope

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Roman Dinkel: Because I Can...Give Hope!

Thanks to Roman's mother, Whitney, for allowing us the opportunity to share her son's story.

Roman is a two-year-old boy who has defied the odds. When he was only 25 weeks gestation, and one tiny pound, he underwent his first surgery. His neurosurgery team safely removed his back from my womb, so they could repair the hole in his back and spinal cord, that didn’t properly form. The very next day, an ultrasound revealed Roman kicking his legs and moving all around. That’s when we knew that this tiny baby was a fighter.

On the day he was born, his doctors carefully removed him via cesarean section at 36 weeks. He had a perfectly healed scar on his back and he came out kicking and screaming. When we first got Romans’ diagnosis, we didn’t know if he’d ever be able to move his legs outside of the womb. Doctors said the movement we were seeing on ultrasound could just be involuntary, due to his upper body moving. So to see him kicking his legs was truly a miracle. In fact, the NICU nurses nicknamed him “Crazy Legs” because he was moving so much! He was even trying to crawl off of his little bed.

Roman has been working hard in therapy three times a week since he was only two months old. He also receives chiropractic adjustments multiple times a week. It has been a blessing to see him hit his milestones and to see him never give up. Shortly, after he turned one-year-old, he got a shiny gold walker. On his very first try he walked across our living room. We were shocked! Over the last year, Roman grew stronger with his walker so we decided to move to the next step. After he turned two, we decided to see if he could learn to use forearm crutches. This would give him even more freedom and independence than the walker did. Again, to our amazement, it only took him a few short weeks(and lots and lots of practice) to pick up on this skill.

Roman has such a determined “can’t stop, won’t stop” attitude. If he falls he gets right back up and tries again. He has given this world hope. Hope, that if someone so small can conquer what he has in only two years, we can all try a little harder to be better and do better. ~Whitney Dinkel