Samantha Caldwell

and her sister, Nicole, were born prematurely at 24 weeks. Nicole is a

typical, healthy three-year-old but Samantha had an interventricular hemorrhage

when she was less than two weeks old and now suffers from multiple disabilities.

Though the

list of Samantha's medical conditions is long, her parents, Fayetteville

residents Stacey and Bobby Caldwell, have hope that she may one day overcome

many of these disabilities. In September, Samantha will attend a session

at Euromed, a rehabilitation center in Mileno, Poland that has had many

successes in teaching non-ambulatory children how to walk and non-verbal

children how to speak.

Samantha currently

cannot walk or speak. She has cerebal palsy, epilepsy, hydrocephalus,

asthma, visual impairment and developmental delays. She is a student at

the Joseph Sams School in Fayetteville and receives all of the available

therapies. The Caldwells are very excited about the Euromed program however

and feel that this may give Samantha the best chance in one day walking

and communicating independently.

Euromed uses

an adapted cosmonaut suit called the Adeli Suit to teach people how to

walk. The suit is a system of rubber bands attached to shoulder pads and

a wide belt worn around the hips connected with kneepads and specially

adapted shoes. The suit provides the wearer with the proper body alignment

and gait pattern and helps the wearer achieve normalization of muscle

tension. Euromed has also had success in helping others increase speech.

Each session

at Euromed, which lasts 28 days, costs approximately $10,000. The Caldwells

are trying to raise $30,000 for a total of three sessions. They have established

the Samantha Danielle Caldwell Trust Fund at First Union National Bank

in Fayetteville and have held a number of fund-raising events including

a car wash, a yard sale and a bake sale.

They will have

a spaghetti dinner and silent auction this Saturday night at North Fayette

Baptist Church from 6-8:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 each. Phone Stacey Caldwell

at 770-461-0175 or Brenda Hallman at 770-460-9954 to purchase a ticket

or make a donation to the auction.