For several charitable organizations, the holiday season - like the rest of the year - is a time to help those dealing with some of life's toughest problems and providing solutions to those problems. In the week leading up to Christmas, the News Tribune is showcasing people whose lives have been impacted by United Way of Central Missouri partner agencies and supporters in the annual "A Christmas Wish" series.
More than three years ago, it was unclear if Olivia McCullough, 4, would ever walk. But last week, her legs steadily carried her along on the treadmill at the Special Learning Center in Jefferson City. Her dazzling smile lit up the room as her parents and therapist cheered her on.
Olivia has been fighting most of her life, but that hasn't dampened her positive outlook on life.
Up until 9 months old, Olivia was like any other healthy child, meeting developmental milestones. However, about three months before her first birthday, she suffered a 26-minute seizure that "basically reset her brain" and led to a backslide in developmental skills, said Olivia's mother, Stacy McCullough.
When Olivia returned home after almost two weeks in the hospital, she couldn't walk, talk, raise her head or even eat on her own.
Olivia has a rare genetic disorder that affects her SCN1A gene, which controls sodium channels, making her prone to seizures, Stacy and husband Justin said.
Immediately after returning from the hospital, Olivia started in-home therapy through Missouri's First Steps early intervention program, which provides services to families with children 3 years and younger with disabilities or developmental delays. Olivia's older brother, Owen, was already in the program for speech therapy.
It took Olivia several months to learn how to eat again, and it wasn't until she was 18 months old that she even learned how to sit up.
"Then it took another 18 months for her to crawl again, so it's taken her brain so much more to relearn everything that just comes naturally to a baby when they grow," Stacy said.
Through First Steps, Special Learning Center staff provided services for Olivia. After Olivia aged out of First Steps, she immediately began attending the Special Learning Center.
Olivia has been walking on her own for about a year, and she adores walking on the treadmill. She also enjoys walking hand-in-hand with her parents through obstacles, kicking down small plastic Christmas trees and sliding down slides.
"She doesn't stop, and she doesn't know any different, but she works so hard for everything she's been able to do - and she's a true fighter. She's shown us what a true teacher is," Stacy said, fighting back tears.
The McCulloughs credited much of Olivia's recovery to the therapists at the Special Learning Center, adding they provided resources, education and care for Olivia and their entire family.
"There's no words to say about the people here," Stacy said. "The therapists, they go above and beyond, and we wouldn't be where we are today without them."
The Special Learning Center serves more than 700 children in almost 20 school districts, Director Debbie Hamler said. It offers various occupational, physical and speech therapy at its 1115 Fairgrounds Road location, in schools and at families' homes.
In the mid-1980s, the Peter Pan School for children with developmental delays and the Goshorn Handicapped Center for children with physical disabilities merged into the Special Learning Center. At that time, the center served only 25 children.
The Special Learning Center's goal from the beginning has been to meet the community's needs, Hamler said. To continue doing that, the agency wants to keep expanding programs and possibly its facilities.
"If we are going to really continue to grow, which it seems to be the case, we're just going to have to get bigger," she said.
In the meantime, Olivia will continue her intensive therapy at the Special Learning Center.
As Olivia continues improving physically, the McCulloughs hope their daughter will start talking soon, before she goes to school.
"We know there are limitations, but we celebrate all of the triumphs that she has," Stacy said.
Every day is still a challenge, though. The seizures can be triggered by immune response or body temperature, the McCulloughs said, so they have to be cognizant of her health at all times.
The McCulloughs used in-home therapy to help keep Olivia from being exposed to viruses and bacteria that could incite a seizure. As Olivia aged though, the McCulloughs wanted her to have more social interaction with other children before starting school, so Olivia began spending more therapy time at the Special Learning Center.
"It's a constant balance between exposure to other viruses and illnesses, but yet she still needs the social interaction that a 4-year-old would get," Justin said, adding Olivia has had strep throat and the flu but fared well.
If Special Learning Center employees notice other children are sick, the McCulloughs said, they will encourage the McCulloughs not to bring Olivia to class that day.
It's also a constant balance act between catering to Olivia's needs and living a "normal life" as a family, the McCulloughs said. After Olivia had her seizure, her older brothers, Evan, 12, and Owen, 6, had to adapt to their sister's condition. They quickly adjusted to their new lives and now enjoy helping Olivia with therapy and being her biggest cheerleaders, the McCulloughs said.
"All of our lives changed, and they went with the flow like we did," Stacy said. "It's been a long three years, but when you look at how far she's come, it's amazing - but you think how trying it is for her to learn something that just comes naturally to some of us."
You can always find a light in the darkness, though, and the McCulloughs said they did just that. Some of their biggest advice to parents with children with disabilities or developmental delays is to keep things in perspective, use the available resources and create a support system.
"I wouldn't wish this upon anyone but I look at some of the people we've met through this process at the learning center and various other people's we've interacted with, and we wouldn't have met them had this not happened," Justin McCullough said.