Veronica Pays It Forward with Passion

Veronica, a recent high school graduate, loves to ride horses, figure skate and sing. Last summer, she started volunteering at Great and Small, a Maryland therapeutic riding center where she helps kids with special needs while they participate in horseback activities.

“I’m passionate about horses and helping these children,” Veronica says. “I love watching them progress and see the joy they get from riding.” Veronica has deep compassion for the young riders. Her own journey as a child with special needs started when she had a debilitating stroke at age 6. She spent two weeks at Children’s National, followed by a long, difficult rehabilitation.

Our specialists diagnosed Veronica with epilepsy and helped her learn to walk and talk again. “I couldn’t go to the pool or hang out with my friends much,” she says. “My parents homeschooled me because it was just too difficult for me to get to school.”

During the next two years, occupational and physical therapy enabled Veronica to graduate from a wheelchair to a walker and back to her own feet. “My physical therapists made sessions really fun,” she recalls. “We played games and they set up tight ropes, blocks to climb on and obstacle courses.” She still undergoes regular scans and treatment for epilepsy to limit her sudden and brief lapses of consciousness, called “absence seizures.”

Once a year, Veronica spends three days at Children’s National for intensive electroencephalography monitoring to measure her brain wave patterns. “The nurses are always wonderful to me,” she says. “And I love it when the therapy dogs come for snuggles. I recently met Hampton, who was adorable.”

The team adjusted Veronica’s care routine as she grew from a child into a young woman with her eyes on the future. This has helped ensure that she doesn’t miss out on important milestones like getting her driver’s license. Along the way, Veronica says, her care providers have taught her a lot about empathy, patience and the power of kindness.

These qualities come in handy when she’s helping children find balance in the saddle. “Children’s National taught me how much progress a kid can make when they’re having fun. This inspired me to bring that positive energy into therapeutic riding for children who need it so much.”