Determination, therapy drive rape survivor

 She wants a lot for her daughter, a former soccer player and social butterfly that always shot for the moon.

 “I want her to talk and eat and see again,” she says, standing just feet away from her 21-year-old daughter who has managed to survive and, to a some small degree, thrive, since being raped, beaten and left for dead behind the Bloomingdale Regional Library 31/2 years ago.

 This mother knows in her head brain that she may not get all she wishes for, but her heart holds out.

 “In the morning, every morning when I say my prayers, I pray for unexpected blessings,” she says.

 This day, she is witnessing some of those blessings for which she has prayed. Her daughter is standing, albeit with a lot of help from two physical therapists and a complicated set of bungee cords designed to help her re-learn how to use her muscles.

 “Q,”Ö as her mother and friends refer to her in public, has a look of sheer determination on her face as she pushes herself uses all her brain power to hold her head up straight and stretch her arms out. Then, to stand with a walker.

 These blessings are expensive, but seem to be the most effective therapy to date, her mom says.

 While Although the family continues to gets financial help from the state’s Medicaid program, the Therasuit therapy for people with brain injuries is not covered. It is $5,000 for three weeks. Three weeks of three-hour sessions, five days a week.

 It is intensive therapy that taxes Q on every level. Taxes her therapists, who must literally //must //pull her in various directions as she re-learns how to move and manipulate her own body.

 And it taxes her mother, who watches from a distance, struggling still un-used to standing back and letting her daughter do it for herself.

 The Therasuit therapy taking place at Pediatric Therapy Services in Lakeland is being funded by the Tampa Bay community, which that has poured its heart out for the a young woman its members have taken for their own. Numerous fundraisers have helped with the bills Medicaid doesn’t cover.

 In the long run, though, more money will be needed if the therapy is to continue every three months or so, Q’s mom says.

 “We use it for doctors, for therapy … and for this,” she says of the community donations, as Q is hooked up to dozens of blue and white bungee cords.

 Q’s head is in a good position, unlike three weeks ago when it flopped toward her back.

 "You can see the thoughts running through her head” as she focuses on her lessons, said physical therapist Denise Kilburn, co-owner of the center. “She moved her body forward by herself for the first time today.” The tightness on her left side is relaxing some. Q is learning, gradually, to control the spasms.

 “She is polling through sludge,” Kilburn says. “She’s learning, ‘How do I itch my nose, how do I get my arm to do that?’

 “She is extremely inspirational,” Kilburn says, tearing up. “To work as hard as she has and push through to the challenge.”

 “Today was a big deal,” says physical therapist Kathy Shufflebarger. “A few days ago, she stood for about 30 seconds. Today, she was standing up for a very long time.”

 “How do you describe the value of lying in a bed all day versus sitting up and breathing?,” Kilburn says.

Q, Kilburn says, is leading therapists forward, letting them know how far she can go. Paving the road to a better life for herself.

 “How do you describe the value of lying in a bed all day versus sitting up and breathing?” Kilburn says.

 Financial donations can be made payable to Bloomingdale Library Assault Victim Trust at the Bank of Tampa, Trust Department, 601 Bayshore Blvd., Tampa, FL 33606. Checks can also //can //be dropped off at any SunTrust Bank.