Twins make progress in West Texas Rehab Center

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - The West Texas Rehabilitation Center is preparing for its annual fundraiser: a telethon and auction on Saturday, January 21.

7News went out to speak with some of the families whose children have been receiving services.

The center’s Chief Operating Officer Scott Jameson recalled, “We were started in 1953 as a response to the polio epidemic and children with cerebral palsy, so we started as a pediatric clinic. There were so many children at that time that weren’t getting the therapy care that they needed.”

One of the families we spoke with was Zane and Nathan Barnett who are two-year-old twins. They were admitted when their mother, Ashley Barnett, a physical therapist noticed they were falling behind on some developmental milestones.

“Although I am a PT my specialty is more towards adults, and that there were pediatric experts that those were their jobs, and I just needed to be mom in this situation,” said Barnett.

Both boys know how to turn up the charm in their own ways during therapy sessions.

Barnett said, “Their personalities are polar opposites. Zane is more kind of reserved, is the rule follower, he’s going to kind of really observe the situation, and Nathan- we just call him chaos.”

With state-of-the-art assistance provided by the rehabilitation center, Ashley is grateful for the progress her boys have made.

“I think Zane is getting close to graduation from speech. Nathan, you know- his challenges are a little harder, but everything that we’ve been told by other medical professionals that he probably won’t ever do, he’s done. So I think really with God’s help and the therapists’ help here that they’re both going to just be happy, healthy, kids.” expressed Barnett.

The telethon fundraiser will be aired on 7News right after the 10 p.m. newscast. If you would like to donate you can click here.

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