Testimonials

Inspiring stories from families in Okanagan, Canada

Lily’s Story

Our daughter, Lily, was born at 27 week and weighed 1 lb-9 oz. She had over 20 diagnoses (Respiratory distress, PDA, sepsis, pneumonia, IVH, ROP, hernia, gastro esophageal reflux to name a few). Even at the age 16 months, when I touched her, she would jolt as if an electric current was running thru her. She was assessed as being severely delayed. The only speech she had was one short “ahh” sound. She was capable only of minimal movement. Dr. Svetlana Masgutova came to work with her over a two-day period. The next day Lily laughed for the first time in her life. Eight months later, she is now two years old and can walk, run and jump and has a 500-word vocabulary that she uses while she “reads” books.
The knowledge Svetlana brought to me is priceless. We will never be able to thank her enough. Our family has had the good fortune of spending many hours with Svetlana as we joined her on a path to healing our daughter. This joining together was not a coincidence, but a blessing and a challenge. The challenge is to get the message out across the world that there is hope for children and people of all ages who need the benefit of Svetlana’s hands and her knowledge. There is no one else like Svetlana and the group of people that surround her. I can't say that our daughter is at 100%, but when I think about where she has come from, she is a miracle. Everyone says it, and of course, I think so too. The miracle however, is the knowledge and the ability that God has given to Svetlana.
Diane Colonnese, Lily’s mother, Arkansas

Mary Rentschler’s Memories of Camps

The first camp I went to in Poland, there was a severely challenged 6-7 year old boy with cerebral palsy. He could walk a little bit, but he couldn’t talk. His movement development was very limited. He was protecting himself with his body. I was talking with his mother and she told me that after the third day of camp, he slept through the night for the first time in his life.
I remember last year in Canada, there was a 5 year old boy with autism. He was extremely resistant to the program. The first week he got 5-10 minutes of treatment in every hour, because he was running away, kicking. He broke my glasses 3 times! As the camp progressed, he became more and more available although he was still quite tactile defensive. You could roughhouse with him but couldn’t pick him up or touch him if he didn’t want you to. At the closing ceremony on the last day of camp, everyone was taking turns to describe their experience of camp – mostly the adults. He came and stood in the middle of the circle. He was quiet for quite some time as he looked all around, taking in everyone in the circle. Then he said slowly and deliberately: “This is a good camp” But then he stayed there, he didn’t sit down and it was time for someone else to have a turn. Svetlana coached him and gently gave some suggestions for anything else he might want to say. He waved her away emphatically saying: “No! I’m thinking!” And then he was quiet again. Eventually he looked up and again slowly and deliberately he said again: “This is a good camp. It makes your brain stronger. It makes your brain stronger forever.”
He is right.
Mary Rentschler, Core Specialist, Washington D.C.

Yannick, age 13 months

My son, Yannick, is 13 months now. He is a baby of mild traumatic birth. I am very happy that my husband, Dennis, helped my child with breathing reflexes after he born. I believe this saved our son’s life. Our child was in the risk category for motor delay He was born with hypertonicity and assymetric muscle tone with strong muscle contractions on his right side. He had bruises above his left eye at the forehead and above the right eye and also in the area of the right occiput. The bruises were there til he was 12 months old. The reflex assessment showed significant asymmetry of Babinsky, ATNR, Grasp, Hands Pulling, Leg Cross Flexion and Crawling reflexes. He started his MNRI program when he was 18 days. Dr Masgutova, his grandmother, after assessing the reflex patterns, started working on Asymmetric Tonic Neck Reflex and other reflex patterns in order to stimulate the function of the body midline in my son. Next, she worked on Head Righting. My son reacted to the exercises surprisingly well. He was able to hold his head independently. We also activated his Leg Cross Flexion and crawling. In the beginning, we worked with his exercise program for 45 minutes a day. At the end of the second month, his motor development had caught up to his age. In the next 2 months he was 2 months ahead for motor and emotional development. At our next well baby visit, at age 7 months he was 4 months ahead. The doctor and the professor of paediatrics were very pleased with his development. His cognitive development was very unique. At 6.5 months, he started finding hidden objects which typically occurs at 9-11 months. He was playing with construction toys by 7 months. He expressed great interest for books as early as 4 months. He went to the swimming pool from 4 months. His teeth began to grow well. He was physically strong and was never ill for the whole year even though his father and I fell ill 3-4 times during that time. At 11 months he started riding his tricycle. There were days when we shortened his program to 10-15 minutes a day. We did the program in a non-invasive way with games and songs and theater. Yannick is now 13 months. He’s crazy about playing in the snow. He watches animals very closely and is particularly interested in dogs, cats and birds. He is well-coordinated, he runs around like any other one year old, his speech is on track, his memory is functioning surprisingly well. He remembers very early experiences. We are absolutely delighted with Yannick’s progress. The program works as well for our own kids as for those who attend the clinics. I’m very proud of my family and the work they have taught me to do with my son. We still continue elements of his program. Both his motor coordination and his cognitive development are well ahead of the developmental norms for his age.
Elizabeth, Yannick’s mother, Poland

Simon, age 18 months

My son started having severe seizures and intensive medication when he was 2 months old. This damaged his liver when he was a baby. We came to the Masgutova clinic when he was 18 months old. At that time, his motor development was at a 6 month age. He was non-verbal and could only sit. He had never rolled over or crawled. He was assessed with hypotonic muscle tone and intensive Fear Paralysis. We came to camp so that he could gain some physical strength before having the surgery for the liver transplantation. After 2 weeks of camp, the blood liver analysis showed that our child no longer needed a liver transplant. We were greatly surprised and also very happy. At the first camp, our son’s motor development had radically improved. Six months later, at the second camp, he started his speech development with separate syllables representing words. At the third camp we attended, our son started walking. A month later, thanks to the intensive work of Denis Masgutova, he started running fast. All of his cognitive abilities and personality have since changed unrecognizably. He is now 3.5 years old and continues his program intensively and we continue to see amazing progress. I fully support the MNRI program and I always will.
Simon’s mother, Poland