Charlotte: Surpassing Expectations After Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy

As a gymnast, Charlotte flips on the balance beam and flies between the uneven bars. In the classroom, she resides on the honor roll and as a Girl Scout will be completing her Gold Award this fall, the highest award in the program. Next year she will chase her dreams as she continues her athletic career competing for the Iowa State University.

She’s an exceptional athlete and person — even more exceptional when you consider that doctors thought she might never walk.

Born with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)

When Charlotte was born, she appeared lifeless, wasn’t breathing and suffered seizures from HIE — a neonatal brain injury that occurs if your baby’s brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen. Level IV neonatal intensive care unit. Our neonatal experts thought Charlotte had a brain injury that could cause brain impairment and developmental delays. They put a cooling cap on her, which reduces brain damage by lowering brain temperature. It was a technology at the time, and we were one of only a few children’s hospitals in the country to offer it.

Our doctors feared she might have brain damage, so they kept her in a sleep-like coma for three days while her parents waited nervously. While wearing the cooling cap, imaging suggested that Charlotte might have long-term brain and organ damage. Doctors prepared her parents for the possibility of a different quality of life than what they were first expecting.

When the cooling cap came off, a CT scan revealed brain damage to the area that controls motor skills. Our doctors still feared Charlotte might need a wheelchair and a feeding tube. She started physical therapy and her parents filed paperwork for a specialized learning plan for when she would enter grade school.

Neonatal therapy for hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy

Our neonatal physical and occupational therapists helped build her functional skills and Charlotte went home, amazingly, at 10 days old. She shocked everyone by army crawling at 4 months. She had appointments to monitor her development, but her therapists cancelled those when they saw she was advanced for any child her age, let alone a child born with a suspected brain injury.

Several months into kindergarten, Charlotte’s school called wondering why her records said she had special learning needs. They removed that note. When doctors saw Charlotte as she got older and learned how serious her issues were at birth, they couldn’t believe she was the same child noted in her old medical charts. The girl they once thought might not walk set large goals and was working her way to the top of her age group in competitive gymnastics.

Another challenge, another triumph

In February 2024, she dealt with another unexpected challenge when she tore her anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL. Her family says this was devastating, as it was a critical time in her gymnastics career and just 4 months before beginning the recruiting process. Charlotte committed to the recovery process, and a little over a year later defied the odds by qualifying for the USA Gymnastics DP National Championship.

“It's an injury that takes a huge mental toll on most teens but she did it with grace.  I know I'm mom, but when you see what she's doing she really does continue to be an inspiration to others not to lose hope,” says Melissa, Charlotte’s mom. But for Charlotte, this is all just business as usual.

As a high school junior, she competed at nationals and earned 25^th place in the entire country for her age group. Now a senior, Charlotte is preparing for her next chapter: college. In August, she committed to Iowa State University on an athletic scholarship.

“We’ve always been humbled knowing how different things could be and grateful for the doctors and staff at Children’s Colorado for saving her life,” says Melissa.

Charlotte has been surpassing expectations for so long that it might not be surprising anymore. Then again, shocking people by clearing a high bar is simply what she does.