Health Beat - Winter 2017 - 13

Ten-year-old Alleyah
Martin pictured with some
members of her family. Left
to right: Mike Martin, Jaxon
Webb, and Mindy Webb.
Not pictured: Darian
Gonzalez, Drayke Webb
and Dakotah Webb.

maintenance injections. Improvements
have been noted in her muscle control.
"She had no movement whatsoever,
and now she's doing finger tapping,"
Zuccarelli says. "If we can get finger tapping, then she can manipulate an iPad,
she can manipulate a communication
device so people can finally know what's
going on inside her brain."
The availability of SPINRAZA treatments at Salina Pediatric Care and
Zuccarelli's arrival have taken a load off
the Webb-Martin family. They no longer
have to travel several hours roundtrip for appointments with a pediatric neurologist.
"Dr. Zuccarelli has been amazing,"
Mindy says. "She's personable, she
spends her time with you, you don't ever
feel rushed."
When doctors diagnosed Alleyah
with SMA as an infant, they said her life
expectancy would be only two years.
"Now she's 10," Mindy says. "And
that was without SPINRAZA. I'm excited
with just minimal movement. I'd love
to see her smile again, but this buys us
some time for something better." 1

¡SE HABLA ESPAÑOL!
Britton Zuccarelli, M.D., speaks Spanish and offers treatments
for a variety of neurological disorders, including Botox for
migraines and spasticity and acupuncture for headaches.
She can evaluate seizures, epilepsy, developmental
delay, autism, tremor, tics and more. To schedule an
appointment with any of our pediatricians, call Salina
Pediatric Care at 785-825-CARE (2273).

LEARN more about SMA at curesma.org

13
http://www.curesma.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Health Beat - Winter 2017
