The other is a caring therapist who specializes in helping those who've endured major brain injuries, like head trauma or even strokes.
Seven months ago, Monica "Andy" Altamirano didn't know who Carrie Freed was. But now, they've formed a bond that is inseparable and special.
Freed uses a special healing regimen called the Feldenkreis method that is working wonders, with Altamirano recovering some of the faculties she lost when she suffered the stroke.
And that relationship was formed because both Altamirano and Freed were featured in separate articles in The North Bergen Reporter within the past year, detailing their individual stories.
Young Andy Altamirano was featured in the Reporter in July of 2006 after her parents, Monica and Patrizio, hard-working immigrants from Ecuador, were honored as New Jersey Parents of the Year by the New Jersey Parents Association on National Parents Day.
The Altamirano family's life had changed dramatically after their second youngest daughter, Monica Andrea or "Andy," was diagnosed with a rare brain disease called Arterio-Venous Malformation (AVM), which is better described as an "abnormal collection of blood vessels."
When Andy was diagnosed, she had just graduated from Robert Waters School in Union City and was getting ready to attend high school.
In 2002, while undergoing a special embolization to try to eliminate the AVM, Andy suffered a massive stroke. Monica, who works as a hairdresser at Buzz Cuts in Hoboken, and Patrizio, who is a waiter in North Bergen, were told by doctors that the stroke was catastrophic and that their daughter would remain in a vegetative state forever.
After three months at New York Presbyterian Hospital, where Andy showed no signs of recovery, she was transported to Children's Specialized Hospital in Mountainside, N.J., where she remained for another three months, again with no sign of hope.
"No one gave us any hope," Monica Altamirano said. "She really looked like a dead body, just lying there. She didn't even look like she was in this world."
Doctors recommended that Andy should be placed in a nursing home, but the family wanted no part of that. They kept the faith, staggering their schedules to take care of Andy. The entire family, parents and brother and sister, took turns spending time with her.
On Christmas Eve of 2002, Monica Altamirano asked for a miracle.
"It was Christmas Eve and I said, 'Andy, all I want for Christmas is to see you smile,'" Monica Altamirano said. "That's all I wanted. She opened her eyes and smiled for me. I started to cry and said, 'Thank God.' She did the same thing for my husband and her brother. She wanted to make me happy for Christmas."
Andy then started to slowly recover, regaining her speech somewhat 18 months later. She then started to gain use of her legs and arms. She started walking the assistance of a walker and her mother. She then was able to attend school four days a week at the A. Harry Moore School for the handicapped in Jersey City and goes for therapy one day as week.
There is hope for Andy where there once was none.
As for Carrie
Carrie Freed is a registered occupational therapist and practitioner, specifying in brain injured victims and neuro-developmental treatment. She first entered the pages of the North Bergen Reporter in January of this year, with her incredible tale of helping neighbor Barbara Natali make major strides in her amazing recovery after a stroke that left Natali in a coma for eight months.
When Freed first met Barbara, the therapist couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Barbara wasn't with it," Freed said. "She could open her eyes and smile, but she couldn't do much else. I couldn't believe we lived in the same building and we never met before. But she couldn't roll over on her own. She just moved her toes a little."
But Freed was determined that something could be done to help Natali, thanks to a method of healing that she specializes in, called the "Feldenkrais method."
"I realized that Barbara was cognitively impaired," Freed said. "I knew she couldn't speak. Her life, as she knew it, was decimated. She had significant brain damage. She had to learn how to do all the little things all over again. We had to try to figure out how to teach the brain how to do all the little things she was so used to doing."
The "Feldenkrais method" focuses on the relationship between movement and thought, increased mental awareness and the creativity that can accompany awareness. It is basically teaching the body to move with less effort and making daily life much easier.
It is a method developed by a Ukrainian judo master and inventor named Moshe Feldenkrais, who used his background in martial arts, especially judo, to discover ways for people to heal knee injuries, especially his own, channeling the healing through themselves.
People who have practiced the "Feldenkrais method" have improved their range of motion, flexibility and coordination and graceful, efficient body movement more effortlessly.
While everyone can use the method - tennis star Martina Navratilova and famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma are two who swear by it - its biggest response is with patients suffering from central nervous system disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and strokes.
Natali has come a long way since her near-fatal aneurysm and stroke. She can now walk and talk freely, thanks to the efforts of Freed.
"It's absolutely amazing," Freed said. "There's no other way to describe it. She's just so motivated to get better and has taken that motivation to another level. She wants to have a purposeful life. She still can't make perfect sense of why she's here or what happened, but she's thinking about becoming an art teacher or becoming a coach for others, telling her motivational story."
When Monica Altamirano read the story in January about Carrie Freed and Barbara Natali, she wondered whether Freed could help Andy.
Gave a consultation
So Altamirano contacted The North Bergen Reporter to get a contact number for Freed.
"We had a nice conversation and then I went to see Monica and Andy to give them a consultation," Freed said. "It was hard to explain to Monica over the phone. So I came to their home and met them."
That first meeting was in April.
"My first reaction was that Andy was an extraordinary person with a great, supportive family," Freed said. "I could tell that Andy was a really kind and caring person before the injury, because she's still kind and caring now. Sometimes, when someone suffers a brain injury, it changes their personality. But from the get-go, I could tell that Andy was loving and they all wanted to see Andy get on to live a purposeful and successful life. The entire family could have been angry and hostile because of it, but it was the complete opposite. They were a joy."
Added Freed, "I saw incredible potential in Andy. I had seen how far Andy had come and perhaps she had reached a plateau, a standstill."
Monica Altamirano also noticed that the improvement level had crested somewhat.
"I didn't know what else we could do," Monica Altamirano said. "We hadn't seen much improvement lately. I knew she still needed help."
"I viewed it differently," Freed said. "Brain injuries are so complex and it heals different ways. Andy had shown so much improvement, but the recovery doesn't happen overnight. There are small changes that over time will add up."
One day a week
Now, Freed spends one day a week with Andy, working together, using the Feldenkreis method to see if it will help Andy's mobility.
"I believe Andy is going to improve with Carrie's help," Monica Altamirano said. "It's good to believe in someone else. When someone tells you there's no hope, it's good to hear from someone who has hope."
Since the sessions began in April, Freed said that she has seen improvement.
"Simple things started happening," Freed said. "In the beginning, just getting Andy up and down off the mat on the floor was tough and took a lot of people. But within a couple of weeks, she was getting up on her own, with the help of perhaps one person."
"I get up with no problem," Andy Altamirano said with a laugh.
Freed said that there was another noticeable improvement.
"A huge change came in her face," Freed said. "The left side of her face was more rigid and her eye and side would droop. Now, she looks like a totally different person."
"All straight up," Andy said, snapping her fingers.
"I think we've made huge progress," Freed said.
Monica Altamirano notices the improvement as well.
"You can see it," she said. "It keeps us up every day to see how she's improving. She's now walking up and down the stairs."
"You need to go through the small improvements just to get to the big ones," Freed said.
Andy still loves music and uses that to get her mind working. She was singing Britney Spears' song, 'Oops, I Did It Again,' while the interview was ongoing.
"I love music," Andy said. "Everybody's helping. I am so happy that she [Freed] came here."
"It's a blessing for us to know someone who cares," Altamirano said. "You can see how Carrie works with Andy. She really cares."
Smart girl
Freed said that she enjoys the sessions with Andy.
"Andy is so thankful when I'm here and she can appreciate why I'm here," Freed said. "She always makes nice comments and she really means it. When someone is that grateful, it makes you want to do whatever you can to help. It really motivates me. It's a good feeling to do something meaningful with people and assist with their lives."
Freed said that it's not easy for Andy to handle the treatments.
"She comes home after school and that's exhausting to get through on its own," Freed said. "Everything she does requires incredible effort. But she is so open to the treatment. After a long day of school, she gets right on the mat and gets to work. I knew that she was a very smart girl. You have to get around the brain injury to get to the smart girl inside."
"I'm just patient," Andy said. "It's no problem at all."
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at either OGSMAR@aol.com or jhague@hudsonreporter.com
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