Brittany Consbruck of Hastings, shown here at a fundraising
event with her father, Dan, was diagnosed with Rett
Syndrome at age 3.
As an infant, Brittany Consbruck seemed just like any other healthy baby. She wasn’t.
The second-born of three children, the degenerative effects of Rett syndrome ravaged the toddler’s body by age 3, leaving her without the ability to walk or talk. Now 24, the Hastings resident is completely dependent on her father, Dan, for even her most basic needs.
She spends her days at Mid-Nebraska Workforce, counting nuts and putting them in a bag. Even this requires assistance from staff to accomplish. When her day is done there, she returns home, where she mostly watches television.
Brittany is fed through a gastric feeding tube, or “G-button,” wears a diaper and takes three different medications daily. A hoist is needed to help her take baths.
In 2000, she underwent spinal fusion surgery. Although she is a case study at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, where she receives periodic blood draws for testing, her condition remains unchanged.
When the weather is nice, Dan takes her for walks in her wheelchair. And she is able to accompany the family on boating trips, just another way Dan strives to help give her challenging life some sense of normalcy.
“She’s total care,” he said. “She’s in a wheelchair and can’t talk or walk. But she knows we’re around.
“You just sort of deal with it. Now, it’s just a routine. It’s like a normal day of life.”
To read more, see Tuesday's Hastings Tribune or the Tribune e-edition.>>>
