When Vicente Hosie, of Bogota, Columbia, was born on August 21, 1989, he was three weeks premature and weighed less than 5 pounds. He was a poor feeder and vomited frequently. At two months of age, Vicente was found cyanotic in his crib, having choked following a feeding. Thereafter, his crib was inclined and he took medication for gastric reflux.
Throughout infancy, Vicente cried a great deal and had difficulty sleeping. As a toddler, he seemed overly sensitive to some sounds and didn't seem to hear other sounds as well as he should. He was also overly sensitive to touch and resisted being hugged and having his hair brushed. He would become angry with his parents when they attempted to dress him and often preferred to be without clothes rather than wear materials that bothered him.
As a four-year-old in preschool, he displayed a very short attention span, had difficulties concentrating, and was unable to follow directions as well as his peers. The preschool teacher pronounced Vicente dyslexic, disorganized, and behind his peers overall.
Just before Vicente's fifth birthday, his younger brother was born, severely premature and having suffered a stroke. The Hosies searched and discovered The Institutes to help their youngest child attain the neurological development he would require to function fully in his life. Following their attendance at the What To Do About Your Brain-Injured Child Course, the Hosies embarked on The Institutes Intensive Treatment Program with their younger son. However, it became increasingly clear to them that Vicente, the older son, also needed help.
The Hosies wrote, "After taking the What To Do About Your Brain-Injured Child Course, we learned many things about both of our sons. We have known since kindergarten that Vicente needed help...after two weeks of being in first grade, the teacher told us that there would have to be a miracle for Vicente to pass...he was so immature...they were telling us that no matter what we would do, he would never make it...Vicente had a total lack of attention and they thought he should go to a special school for kids with learning problems...he was then moved to a lower grade in school...he's feeling miserable, wondering why he had to lose his friends and what's wrong with him. He is a very sweet, smart, sensitive boy who is unhappy, is being rejected from school, is losing his friends, doesn't believe in himself and is not having fun learning...we need to help Vicente to be a happy human being."
At Vicente's initial evaluation at The Institutes in March 1997, he had an alternating divergent strabismus and converged his eyes only fifty percent of the time to read or to catch a ball. He read very slowly and had a poor understanding of basic math concepts. He had trouble following instructions without help from his parents, and he continually changed his mind and his mood. Vicente became easily stressed and disorganized. His parents reported that he rejected sports as he had a hard time in following the directions. Vicente had difficulty in expressing his thoughts clearly, often saying the opposite of what he meant and having difficulty finding the right word. When he tried to write, he often reversed letters. When he tried to kick a ball or hop, he had difficulty deciding with which leg to do so. He had not yet established a dominant side. The staff diagnosed Vicente with a moderate, diffuse, bilateral, primarily cortical brain injury.
The Institutes staff designed a neurological treatment program for Vicente to accomplish at home. This intensive daily program included oxygen enrichment, crawling, creeping, running, brachiation, a gravity free environment, laterality activities, an intellectual program, and excellent nutrition.
At Vicente's revisit, six months later, he had improved significantly. He was able to read and enjoy commercial books at his age level. He no longer reversed his letters and words when writing, and because he no longer was reversing his numbers he enjoyed his math lessons for the first time. He could catch and hit a baseball, and his friends reported that Vicente is the fastest runner on the team. He no longer had problems in verbally expressing his thoughts clearly.
The staff and the Hosies agreed that Vicente should return to school at peer level or above. He would continue his home treatment program of oxygen enrichment, intellectual studies, running and brachiation, and social growth as well as a good nutritional program. One year after embarking upon the Intensive Treatment Program, Vicente returned to school full-time. He was intellectually, physically, and socially excellent.
