Jourdan, 7, was diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis, a rare disease of the spinal cord that results in flaccid paralysis, 2 years ago. His doctors in Louisiana told his family his right arm would never function again, but his mom, an emergency room nurse, refused to accept the prognosis. Her research led the family from New Orleans to Kennedy Krieger Institute’s International Center for Spinal Cord Injury. Through activity-based restorative therapy at the center, Jourdan has regained function in his right arm.
