My name is Kimberly Satre, I am a happy little girl, but my life is not easy. When I was born my parents were so happy to have a baby girl. I appeared to be perfectly healthy but nobody knew what was going on inside of me. My brain had not formed properly while I was growing inside my Mom. At two months old I started having seizures, due to the malformation of my brain. These seizures happened every day from this age, numbering in the hundreds. I was put on nine different medicines, none of these stopped my seizures.

It was difficult for me to learn anything, I really learned very little, due to these daily seizures. Fortunately for me, my mom and dad would not quit, they searched for answers all over the country. They found Dr. Nordli at Chicago Children’s Hospital. He recognized that an operation called a functional hemispherectomy could possibly remedy my seizures, by taking out the bad part of my brain. I was almost three years old when they did the operation and I have been seizure free since that time, it is a miracle.

But, even though the seizures are gone I still have many, many problems to deal with in my life. I have to go to therapy every day, my only day off is Sunday, and even then Mom is doing therapy with me. Mom takes me to occupational therapy Mondays, speech therapy Tuesdays, conductive education Wednesdays, occupational and physical therapy Thursdays, speech therapy Friday, and aqua therapy and/or therapeutic horseback riding Saturdays. In addition to this I have different therapy exercises at home every day with my Mom. Sometimes it seems like it will never end for her and Dad. They both work very hard and need a break from me sometimes. And, I work hard too, and could use a break from them.

A place like Jill’s House is needed to give them that break. And, at Jill’s House I could get the care I need by people who will love me like my parents do.

This video shows my progression of learning to walk: