“I know for a fact that if I had to drive every day for his appointments, he would probably only make two appointments a month.”

—Shetia Weston, Chase Brown’s Mom

Chase Brown of Columbus is a fighter. His mother, Shetia Weston, went into premature labor with Chase at 25 weeks because he had a perinatal stroke. In the NICU, Chase underwent heart surgery and had three blood transfusions. A few years later, he was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.

Now, Chase is undergoing advanced robotics therapy at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, which brought them to the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House. The therapies and services have been successful in restoring and improving Chase’s body movement and function.

“We have seen tremendous improvement as just a few months ago when Chase could barely use his right extremities, which have been affected by his Cerebral Palsy,” Shetia said.

“Staying at the House has allowed Chase to receive life-changing treatments without the stress of trying to figure out how he would actually get to the hospital,” Shetia said.

“I believe his interactions with the other children here, and, seeing that he isn’t the only child who is sick or has a condition, helps him to feel at least some sense of normalcy,” Shetia said.

A full day of intensive therapy doesn’t slow Chase down. Whether he is making slime, dressing up as Darth Vader for Halloween, or simply hanging out at the treehouse, Chase is full of energy. “Seeing him getting the opportunity to just be a kid and not worry about the medical stuff is comforting,” Shetia said.

The House environment created by the volunteers and staff “doesn’t feel like the hospital” and is a retreat from “uncomfortable recliners and vending machine snacks,” Shetia said. “Stories that aren’t about medical jargon helps a lot when you’ve listened to medical jargon for 12 years.”

Consistency is the key to Chase’s recovery and the Peachtree-Dunwoody House makes that possible. “I know for a fact that if I had to drive every day for his appointments, he would probably only make two appointments a month,” Shetia said.