“Sometimes I wonder, “Why is this happening to an innocent little girl?”  Justin Pingeon watches as his 3-year-old daughter, Bailey, walks an obstacle course during physical therapy at the Children’s Care Rehabilitation Center in Sioux Falls. Five months ago, he didn’t know if Bailey would ever walk again…or if she’d even survive the rare disease that struck suddenly and left her partially paralyzed.

All was well with the bright, happy toddler until November 9, 2006. Bailey was home with her grandmother, who noticed that Bailey was trying to open the refrigerator door, but that her right arm hung limp, and that she couldn’t walk. Alarmed, she called Justin at work, who rushed home to take her to the emergency room. Doctors there first suspected a brain tumor, but tests by neurologist Dr. Wilson Asphora revealed the telltale signs of a very rare disorder—Moyamoya disease. Moyamoya is a genetic abnormality that causes blocked arteries at the base of the brain. The name means “puff of smoke” in Japanese, a description of the tangle of tiny blood vessels that form to compensate for the blockage. If it’s not detected, major stroke can occur, causing death or permanent brain damage. In some cases, death can occur from a brain hemorrhage.

Treatment for Moyamoya involves surgery to open or bypass blocked blood vessels. Dr. Asphora performed surgery on the left side of Bailey’s brain on November 19.  Bailey’s long blonde hair would have to be shaved off—to be supportive, her mother, Kyla Sunderman, also shaved her hair. Scrapbook photos show a smiling toddler, enjoying the novelty of the new look she and her mom shared. The surgery went well, and a second surgery was performed two days later on the right side of her brain to repair that area.

Three days after her second surgery, Bailey was transferred from Sanford Health to the Rehabilitation Program at Children’s Care, where she received constant nursing care and almost immediately began speech, physical, and occupational therapy to regain her cognitive and physical skills. She wasn’t walking, wasn’t speaking, and wasn’t using her right arm. Her mom roomed in with her, and helped with all aspects of her care. The treatments were short and basic to begin with, and her family and staff were heartened with the progress she made.  On December 13, 2006, after just two-and-a-half weeks in the inpatient program at Children’s Care, Rehabilitation Program Director Dr. Julie Johnson discharged her and began her therapy with Children’s Care on an outpatient basis.

Bailey visited the Children’s Care Rehabilitation Center for outpatient therapy three times a week to begin with, and Bailey continued to make huge progress. “We’ve been working on dressing and feeding herself, which she was able to do before the stroke,” says Children’s Care occupational therapist Megan Henningsen. “Also cutting and drawing and typical three-year-old things, encouraging her to use her right hand without being prompted. Recently we’ve been working on opening food packages and other fine motor tasks using both hands.”

“A big part of Bailey’s success is because of her dad’s dedication to carrying over therapy treatment ideas at home,” says Children’s Care physical therapist Shawn Frewaldt. “Her main physical therapy goals are to improve her balance and strengthen her right side. In November she couldn’t walk, and now she’s running! She’s really fun to work with—she has so much positive spirit.”

Justin praises the Children’s Care staff for their expertise and kindness to his daughter and their family. “Bailey really had excellent care,” says Justin. “And the staff was so good to her. It seemed like everything Bailey needed to get better was right there. Dr. Johnson is so friendly and helpful, too.”

Bailey soon cut back to therapy twice a week, and now comes in just once a week.  She was discharged from speech therapy at Children’s Care on March 19, as she is now enrolled in Head Start at Terry Redlin Elementary and gets speech therapy there. Physical and occupational therapy at Children’s Care will continue for awhile.

“Her prognosis is good,” says Dr. Johnson. “The surgery should prevent any further strokes, and she is on track to regain all or most of her function that was lost with the stroke. She’s a hard worker, and she has great family support.”

A sunny attitude, hard work, good family support, and help from the experienced staff at Children’s Care: They’ve all added up to help this extraordinary little girl regain the life she was meant to live. “The big thing is the happiness of the patient,” says Justin, “and when she’s at Children’s Care, Bailey’s happy.”