Travis's Story

When Travis was just seven months old, he received a DPT vaccine that caused him permanent brain damage.  He attended a special preschool for developmentally disabled children and received lots of therapy.  His speech therapist said he would never be able to talk, but Travis proved her wrong.  He was almost four years old before he spoke his first word.  Through the years, Travis worked hard, and never gave up.  By the time he was 16, just like other kids, he was excited about finding a part time job for the summer.  He wanted to be a bagger at a grocery store and was working with a job coach to find his first job.

Then, in June of 1999, the summer he was 16, he caught Whooping Cough.  The disease was devastating, causing further brain damage and leaving him neurologically and medically fragile.  In short, Travis went through Hell.  He suffered visual and auditory hallucinations, and went through periods of mania when he could not sleep for days, then he would become catatonic.  He lost much of his ability to process information and was moved into the lowest functioning classroom at school.  He was easily agitated and would “loop” or perseverate endlessly, repeating the same sentence over and over again.  The speed at which he could think or process information slowed dramatically.  My happy, bright-eyed son was reduced to a barely functioning individual who, on a good day would sit in the corner and drool; on a bad day would scream in terror from the hideous hallucinations he suffered.

Travis has been involved in Special Olympics since he was eight years old, and had been involved in ski programs, bowling, basketball and horseback riding.  It had been so exciting to watch as he progressed from learning basic skills to becoming proficient in these different sports.  But after his illness and subsequent additional brain injury, his functioning dropped dramatically in these areas also.  He had to discontinue his skiing and horseback riding lessons, and he could barely manage to go through the motions at bowling or basketball practice.

Travis showing Sandy at the Utah State Fair Gaited Horse Show, 2004.

During the last five years, we have been very fortunate to have had access to the finest medical care and excellent teachers who were willing to work with Travis through this nightmarish time.  But there are two outstanding things that happened which I believe changed, and perhaps saved, Travis’s life.

First, we were introduced to a natural immune system booster called 4-Life Transfer Factor.  This product has been shown to raise the function of the immune system by over 400%.  The first time we heard about Transfer Factor we walked away, thinking nothing could be as good as we were told this would be.  But no matter what we tried in mainstream medicine, Travis’s condition continued to worsen. As the days went by and Travis continued to spiral downhill, I knew I could not live with myself if I lost my son and hadn’t tried absolutely everything possible to save him.  I had no expectation that the product would be beneficial, it was simply a matter of being able to say I had tried everything humanly possible to help my son.

Unbelievably, Travis began to improve almost immediately.  I saw a reduction in his “process time” and a decrease in hallucinations.  He began to function a little better in school.

Travis showing off his 5th Place ribbon in the
2-Gait Championship Class at the Utah State Fair Show, 2004.

A few days before, he had tried to write out his Valentine’s Day cards to his classmates.  It took him 40 minutes to write his name twice.  48 hours after starting Transfer Factor, he was able to write out about 20 cards in two hours.  It was still very slow and took a great amount of effort on his part, but it was remarkably better than a few days before.  Gradually, Travis continued to improve.  It was a slow process, but with a strengthened immune system, I believe his body was able to stop the decline and finally begin the healing process.

There were and still many ups and downs for Travis, but I felt at that time it was very important to get him involved again with any type of therapy that would get his brain and body back working together and moving towards recovery.  I chose to focus on equestrian therapy because Travis has always loved animals so I knew he would be motivated, and riding horses requires mental as well as physical effort so I felt he would get a double benefit.


Travis riding Sandy at the Utah Grand, 2004
The first time we put Travis back on a horse, I was devastated.  My son who had been quite a good rider, who had been able to walk, trot, and canter, who had been active in horse shows where he shown at halter as well as equitation and trail competitions, could barely sit in the saddle.  At a walk around a very small arena he almost fell out of the saddle.  I wondered if it was even safe for him to be on a horse.  The woman who was teaching him at the time was a special education teacher with her own horses, and she was awesome with Travis.  She worked with boundless energy and enthusiasm, but it just seemed impossible that Travis would ever regain any of the skills he once had.


Travis places 1st at Utah Grand, Spanish Fork 2004

After a few months, this incredible lady was forced to give up working with kids because of her family situation, and we switched to a riding facility that specialized in working with disabled riders.  Over the next two years, Travis improved slightly and was able to begin to trot again, but the effort was exhausting and he was still having trouble sitting upright in the saddle.  As he went around turns there were many times I thought he was going to fall right off.  The instructors he worked with were working to the best of their ability, but it was a lot of hard work for Travis, without a lot of gain.  They tried to alter his equipment by raising the stirrup on one side to try to offset his leaning, but it was ineffective.  We just couldn’t figure out why he kept leaning to one side.  Also, every time his horse would step down at a trot, Travis’s arm would shoot up in the air.  It would have been great if he were a drum major in a marching band, but it just didn’t work on horseback.  They tried to compensate by having Travis hold on to the fabric of his Levi’s at his thigh, but his elbow still flapped out at every step.

He continued to compete with Special Olympics, with little success, but it was at one of these competitions that we met Tami Tanner.  Tami was so cute with Travis, she teased him and got him to laugh.  She told me about her program, Hoofbeats to Healing, and the remarkable Fox Trotters she was using as therapy horses.  I told her about Travis and she promised he would improve -- not just on horseback, but neurologically and in every aspect of his life -- if we rode with her.  I was drawn to Tami immediately, but her facility was farther away and, to be frank, I really didn’t believe that riding with her could possibly be any more beneficial than riding in any other program.  I was pretty sure that someone who had never ridden would improve with any equestrian therapy, but I was very skeptical that Travis would experience any changes.  After all, he had been riding for ten years.

Another year went by, and we met Tami again at the Special Olympics competition.  It was a long day, and I had the opportunity to observe Tami’s students.  I watched her interaction with the kids, and I watched the kids interact with each other.  I really liked the way they seemed to be one big family, supporting and encouraging each other.  But what really got me was watching her kids take the gold in almost every class. Her kids were incredible.  It was pretty frustrating for Travis - he likes those gold medals.  Tami talked to me some more, told me more about her program and even the special saddles she uses.  She explained how kids’ brains were changed when they rode Fox Trotters.  I decided it was time to make a decision.  Even though I didn’t want to drive an extra half hour each way to get to her barn, even though I didn’t think Travis’ brain would really change, I was pretty sure his riding skills would improve, (I thought Tami was just an excellent instructor) and I knew he would have a lot more fun.  Tami just has a way of making everything seem fun.

The first time Travis rode at Hoof beats to Healing, Tami had someone lead his horse around the arena, and she used a side walker.  I thought she was overcautious, after all - he had been riding unassisted for years. But after only about ten minutes under Tami’s careful observation, Travis had to stop.  He was dizzy and his eyes were dilated.  That was when I became convinced that there was something special going on.

Tami explained that the reason Travis was leaning sideways in the saddle and the reason his arm would shoot up in the air was because of his brain.  It wouldn’t do any good to shorten one stirrup to compensate, because his brain was what needed to compensate.  The first thing she did was have him ride without stirrups so his brain could begin to right itself.  After a few sessions she had him ride bareback.  I know that just a short time before he would have fallen right off without a saddle, but there he was - upright and trotting around the arena.  One of the best days of my life was just a few months later when I watched Travis, riding bareback, sailing over low jumps and loving it.

One thing Tami warned me about was that because of all the neurological stimulation, sometimes kids get worse before they get better until their brains learn to adjust.  Let me tell you, after the first three weeks I was ready to give up.  While Travis was doing much better on top of the horse, on the ground he was agitated and hyperactive.  Tami kept promising it would get better, but I was about ready to give up.  Then, like magic, everything started to smooth out.

Travis’ processing speed has increased dramatically, he very seldom “loops,” and he is much less prone to be agitated.  Interestingly, when he is having a hard day, I have observed that he is much calmer after a session at Tami’s.  His medications have been reduced dramatically.  While Travis still struggles, the improvements I have seen have been nothing short of miraculous.

Travis has been riding for two years with Tami, and a few weeks ago he got a first place ribbon in a real horseshow.  But better than ribbons, I have a son who is almost back to where he was before his second brain injury.  We have real conversations and he has hopes and dreams for his future.  And thanks to Tami Tanner and Hoofbeats to Healing, I can dream, too.


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