Life was almost perfect when Amelia Cooper found out she was carrying twin girls. However, when the girls were delivered at only seven months, they had to spend some time in the NICU. Harper was fine, but Savannah Cooper was facing some medical issues. The early diagnosis was lissencephaly and schizencephaly. Both conditions are neurological disorders that can have grave consequences.
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In layman’s terms, lissencephaly means “smooth brain.” The condition means the brain is missing the folds of brain matter in the cerebral cortex and thus less processing area in the brain. Schizencephaly means that there is a cleft or missing portion in Savannah’s brain.
On her TikTok channel, Mom Amelia explains the conditions fully. She also shows a scan noting how Savannah’s brain differs from a normally developed brain.
You can find a series of posts relaying additional information and responding to questions on her page as well. The page also contains many milestone moments for little Savannah. Perhaps the most significant — the young parents were unsure they would ever experience moments like Savannah’s first unaided steps. Each day brought them a renewed hope that Savannah would defy the odds.
When you have a child with any health condition, taking each day individually is an important coping mechanism. For Savannah’s parents, it has meant that they can enjoy each day with both of their girls. They celebrate the milestones and relish each new step.
While they are not planning Savannah’s wedding yet, they are hopeful that she will continue progressing along her current track. At three, she is slightly behind her twin sister but remains an active and playful child. Her Lissencephaly is mild, only affecting about one-quarter of her total brain area. This means there is hope that her brain may “learn” to cope with the condition and reroute some things to process information.
When you see Savannah running around in the yard, she appears to be like any other active three-year-old! You can see her progress in the video below:
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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