Dealing with Nathan’s and Alexis’ Special Needs
While their five siblings thrived, life was not that generous with Nathan and Alexis, the two of the septuplets who were born with cerebral palsy. They began to exhibit feeding problems about a month after the delivery, and Alexis had to be fed through a tube for several years. Both Nathan and Alexis remained behind in their physical development and were diagnosed with cerebral palsy when they were 18 months old. Moreover, Alexis was diagnosed with hypotonic quadriplegia, which led to muscular weakness in the legs, and Nathan with spastic diplegia, which led to spasms in the legs.
THE MOTHER OF THE MCCAUGHEY SEPTUPLETS (Photo by Ambassador/Sygma/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
The parents were crushed by the diagnosis at first but stated that their faith kept them strong. They worked with pediatricians to help the kids to overcome their physical challenges, and the therapy offered good results from the first years, so Alexis and Nathan could enjoy their childhood like the rest of their siblings.