Hart King is making some serious health strides!
Meghan King Edmonds — who celebrates her 35th birthday on Thursday — shared a milestone list on her Instagram Story the previous day, detailing her 15-month-old son’s progress since his “irreversible brain damage” diagnosis and the beginning of his subsequent therapies.
“So far, he is wanting to bear weight on his feet and legs almost 100 percent of the time and even reaches for my hand for assistance with walking,” The Real Housewives of Orange County star told her followers, showing off the handwritten list of achievements Hart has checked off.
“He’s also calmer in the [hyperbaric compressed oxygen/HBOT] chamber and wants to lay down — not fussy at all, whereas before he was just a little bit agitated,” she continued, adding that “it has only been seven sessions” of the therapy thus far.
“He’s also trying to imitate more sounds that I’m making,” King Edmonds went on. “He’s more social. He’s always been social, but he’s finding things funnier and he’s trying to make me laugh in a more deliberate way with the way he’s socially interacting.”
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Meghan King Edmonds Shares “Incredible Moment” Son Hart, 14 Months, Stands for the “First Time”
And even though the pair are currently in New Orleans, quite a ways from their California home, for Hart’s therapy sessions, “he’s falling asleep in his crib without fussing at all” — something he does at home fine, “but we’re in a strange house,” King Edmonds notes.
“It’s hard to know if this [progress] is because of physical therapy or HBOT, but I am definitely happy with the progress he’s making in a short time,” she concludes.
The mom of three — who also shares Hart’s twin brother Hayes King and daughter Aspen, 2½, with husband Jim Edmonds — revealed in early July that Hart has “minor Periventricular Leukomalacia on both sides of his brain” and is “at risk for being diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.”
In an interview with The New York Post‘s Page Six, King Edmonds said that she felt “relief” after learning his diagnosis, explaining, “It was vindication in a weird, twisted way. Vindication I didn’t want, but I knew that I would get. … Because of that diagnosis, I got him into all these therapies.”
Weeks later, King Edmonds explained that Hart has been undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT. According to Mayo Clinic, the therapy increases oxygen in the blood and is used to treat several medical conditions.
“Four times a week either Jimmy or I ‘dive’ with Hart in a hyperbaric compressed oxygen chamber (HBOT),” she captioned a photo of herself giving her son a kiss on the cheek. “After 5 dives we are already seeing progress: lifting his left leg on stairs when his right is restrained, bear crawling (perhaps trying to stand?), more willingly taking steps with assistance, and cruising from the couch to the coffee table.”
“Is it because of this alternative therapy, is it because he’s just getting older, is it because of PT, or is it because of his 3x/weekly chiropractor visits? Who knows, but it’s not hurting!” the reality star wrote. “Go Hart, go!”
One day later, King Edmonds shared an Instagram Story video of Hart standing and moving between the couch and a nearby coffee table. “Omg!” she captioned the footage. “This is such great progress!!”
Meghan King Edmonds Compares Parenting in Real Life to What Is Often Portrayed on Instagram
In late August, little Hart could be seen taking to his feet all on his own in video footage and a snapshot his proud mama shared to Instagram.
“Hart stood today for the first time! And I’m not talking for a half second, he stood for almost a whole minute!” King Edmonds captioned the photo and clip of her son showing off his skills. “My mom was there and got to see it and take pics and even a video of the end.”
“Both his PT and OT were there (and this wasn’t during therapy),” she continued. “Only a week into intensive therapy @napacenter and this boy’s development is exploding! (And so is my heart!) What a special and incredible moment! #gohartgo”
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