On September 11, 2019, Katerina and her mother Maria were getting ready to go to a nearby park to enjoy a day outside in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Maria went upstairs to change clothes before their adventure together only to return minutes later to find Katerina had eloped outside of the home and ended up in the family pool.

Maria quickly pulled Katerina from the water and began to perform CPR while calling 911 at the same time. A team of first responders arrived within minutes and, miraculously, were able to get a heart beat on Katerina before racing her to a nearby hospital for further treatment.

Katerina’s near-drowning changed the course of her life, as she spent weeks on a ventilator in intensive care before being discharged to a rehabilitation center for 3 months. Against all odds, she’s now trying to relearn everything her incredible brain had already mastered.

“Her MRI at intensive care first came out 99% normal, and then a couple days later they told me she will be in a vegetative state,” Maria told us.

Thankfully, the doctors were wrong and Katerina has made significant progress. However, since stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19 went into effect shortly after she was finally discharged from the hospital, getting Katerina the therapy she requires has been an uphill battle for her mother, Maria.

“She’s trying to stand on her own with support and has good head control,” Maria wrote on Facebook. “However, she is not walking, talking or using her hands to play.”

Although she can eat by mouth now, she requires a feeding tube in her belly for nutrition and lots of expensive in-home therapy devices for physical therapy.

Thanks to the continued support of our charity throughout 2020, Holton’s Heroes was able to purchase Katerina two amazing therapeutic tools: a Firefly Scoot (pictured here) and an unique device called an Upsee, which allows children with poor muscle control to “walk” with their loved one (pictured below).

“Getting the feeling of walking and weight baring has been incredible,” Maria told us about the Upsee. “She can learn to make steps and it helps with her ability to stand.”

“The scoot has been fun for her while we continue to work on her sitting balance and trying to get her to use her hands to move around,” Maria adds.

Helping Katerina and her mother get back to life has been a true honor and our donors generosity was not lost on Maria.

“Getting [these devices] made me really happy since it gives us more opportunity to interact,” Maria told us. “ She gets to learn more, feel independent and have fun, just like any kid should. Thank you and God bless you all.”