TUPELO, Mississippi—Ava Scott’s enthusiasm is contagious... in fact, it’s easier to catch than the 4-year-old herself. 

Despite a medical condition that impairs her ability to run and play, Ava is determined to keep up with other children her age. And last week, Ava got a new set of wheels that will help her do just that.

The daughter of Shane and Brianna Scott of Booneville, Ava was born six weeks prematurely at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. Even in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, her parents noticed developmental delays but attributed them to prematurity.

“We hoped that she would catch up,” says Brianna. But further testing by Ava’s pediatric neurologist resulted in a diagnosis of PVL (periventricular leukomalacia), a type of brain injury common in premature babies.

As an infant, Ava began receiving physical, occupational and speech therapy at home through Mississippi’s First Steps Early Intervention Program. Shortly before her first birthday, her parents enrolled Ava at the Child Care Center of NMMC, where Brianna works as a nurse manager. Director Cheryl Wheeler suggested available resources and recommended NMMC’s Outpatient Rehabilitation Center. Therapists from the Outpatient Rehabilitation Center offer physical, occupational and speech therapy at the Child Care Center several times each week.

Since NMMC therapists began treating Ava, she has thrived. When she was ready, therapists started Ava with a standing frame to strengthen her muscles and allow her to stand awhile each day. Next came a portable activity chair and a gait trainer. “Her teachers at the Child Care Center have always been so supportive,” Brianna says. “They really work with her so she can participate in activities with the other children. They want her to be all that she can be.”

Two years ago, Ava graduated to a self-propelled wheelchair. “The day she got her wheelchair, all the teachers were cheering her on,” Brianna says. “She has so much grit and determination. One day, I watched her through the window before she knew I was there. She would roll up to the spot on the floor where it changed from tile to carpet, which is hard to cross in a wheelchair, and she would push herself over it. Then, she would turn her wheelchair around and go back over it again. Whatever’s hard, she goes to it and works on it.”

Because she has done remarkably well with the wheelchair, last week Ava’s therapists surprised her with a self-propelled mobile stander. “It’s similar to a wheelchair, but upright,” Brianna says, “It will strengthen her legs, plus now she’s the height of all her friends.”

Ava’s joy was almost uncontainable. “She just loved it! As soon as she realized she could drive it herself, she just took off,” Brianna says. “She was going up and down the hall smiling and laughing. She was going up to all the teachers and saying, “Look at me, look at me!”

Her parents are equally thrilled. “Early on, we didn’t have much hope for Ava’s future beyond her being a passive participant in her own life. We’ve told Ava, ‘you may never walk this side of Heaven,’” Brianna says. But her family greatly appreciates everything Ava’s teachers and therapists are doing to help make it a possibility.

“They’ve given her everything,” Brianna says. “They’ve given her life.”

For more information about NMMC’s Outpatient Rehabilitation Services, visit www.nmhs.net/rehabilitation or call 1-800-THE DESK (1-800-843-3375).