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Easterseals Delaware & Maryland's Eastern Shore Easterseals Delaware & Maryland's Eastern Shore
A boy with epilepsy and autism and a tracheostomy smiles from an accessible bike with a therapist by his side

Martin Finds Services for a Lifetime

Martin’s family knows they can rely on Easterseals services for a lifetime to help him meet his milestones, regain skills, and look forward to a bright future.

Martin

Services for a lifetime -- that is a guiding principle at Easterseals Delaware & Maryland’s Eastern Shore. For families like nine-year-old Martin, who has been receiving Children’s Therapy Services since he was six months old, it is more than a saying; it is a promise.

“We have been with Easterseals for as long as I can remember. They are like family,” Martin’s mom, Jhazmin, says. “We love everything about Easterseals. We find comfort with Martin going there and doing what he needs to do.”

When Martin was only three months old, Jhazmin noticed something was off. She trusted her instinct and took him to the emergency room, where they discovered Martin had already experienced two seizures. After his epilepsy diagnosis and his delay in meeting his milestones, Jhazmin sought out Easterseals Children’s Therapy. Early on, they helped him lift his head, sit up, work through feeding difficulties, and celebrate as he said his first words and took his first steps. 

two parents and three children stand in a physical therapy gym and smile at the camera

Over the years, through many medical illnesses and new diagnoses, Easterseals has been by Martin’s and his family’s side, helping Martin regain and develop skills he has lost due to these complications. Now, Easterseals is working with Martin on writing, attending to tasks for extended periods, fine-motor skills like puzzles, and walking with flat feet.

“To all the other parents out there, keep on trying and don’t give up,” Jhazmin says. “Even if you have a frustrating day, it is okay. Take a break and try again tomorrow. You are doing a good job!”

A boy with epilepsy and autism and a tracheostomy smiles from a hospital bed

We love everything about Easterseals. We find comfort in Martin going there and doing what he needs to do.

— Jhazmin, Martin's mother

Meet Martin!

Click the link below to watch Martin's story.

My name is Jhazmin and I'm Martin's mother.

Martin has autism,

he's epileptic, and he has a trach for his lung failure.

When Martin was six months old, he started at Easterseals.

There have been a lot of ups and downs.

Wonderful moments and sad ones.

We’ve all felt sadness because of his situation.

The doctor said he could never get off of his machine...

could never do anything in life.

From the beginning they said that he would never

be able to walk and yet he still gets up and walks.

So I think when we see him in that wheelchair,

we knew he was going to get up and start walking again.

My goal for him and his family's goal was just to get him more...

get his endurance up, get him to be able to

run around with his sisters and a big thing was the bike.

It's important for their social development

and for him to feel like a regular kid,

and we started him on the bicycle here in the clinic,

and I just saw and mom saw how happy he was.

My son is very strong.

Since he was born, he’s been fighting

and now he’s stronger than ever.

I am proud of my son and proud to be his dad.

We've been through so much

that it's just like we've grown together

and we've grown stronger together.

We've become a family full of people who are compassionate.

The rest of the family just likes to see him happy.

I trust Easterseals.

I've been with them for eight and a half years.

They've raised him just as much as I've raised him.

They have not just taught him, they've taught me

who has taught my girls.

I feel like we are who we are because

of all these diagnoses and Easterseals.
A child with neuronal migration disorder sits in an adapted toy car

Learn more about Children's Physical Therapy

Easterseals Children’s Services provides therapy, early intervention, and family support to help children with disabilities build communication, mobility, and daily living skills so they can grow, learn, and reach their full potential.

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