Stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines meant Callen Walck couldn’t attend his regular in-person physical and aquatic therapy appointments with Good Shepherd Pediatrics.
Through Good Shepherd’s virtual visit services, Callen is able to continue working on exercises, balance and more — face-to-face through a tablet.
A Good Shepherd patient since he was 1 ½ years old, Callen, now 9, has a form of muscular dystrophy known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) syndrome, which affects the body’s nerves. Over time, CMT reduces a person’s muscle mass. Callen comes to Good Shepherd to help strengthen his muscles, says his mom, Jamie Moulthrop.
“He wanted to work on his endurance,” Jamie says. “Being at school and playing with the kids, he wasn’t able to keep up with them. He tires throughout the day.”
Remotely, Callen and mom log in to his pediatric telehealth appointment. Callen goes through a series of exercises, just as he would in-person. He does sit-to-stands from the family’s couch. Then, he runs in place, jumps and ducks according to the prompts of an interactive video. For some additional challenges, Callen walks a straight line.
“His pretend tightrope,” Jamie says.
Additionally, he shows off some of his newly learned karate moves and does sit-ups.
Pediatric Telehealth Helps Achieve Goals
While pediatric telehealth is a different way of participating in therapy, mom says Callen enjoys it. More importantly, he’s continuing to make progress toward his goals. During a recent family walk, Callen walked nearly two miles — a personal best.
“I was unsure how it was going to go and what Good Shepherd would be able to do with Callen via video,” Jamie says. “But the fact that he’s engaged, and they continue working on the same things he was doing at the Health & Technology Center, it’s amazing.”
Telehealth visits are available at Good Shepherd for physician services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and clinical psychology. Request your in-person or virtual visit online or call 1-888-44-REHAB.