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Cannon: A Portrait of Quiet Strength
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Cannon just turned five this past March. Happy, sweet, observant, playful — and, since January 27, a proud big brother to baby Jack. You only have to catch his eye to understand what his family says so often: Cannon feels everything, senses everything. His big, warm smile and his sensitivity to other people's emotions mean he lights up every room he walks into, as if he carries a little bit of light with him wherever he goes.
👶 The Diagnosis
Cannon was born with a spontaneous mutation on the LMBRD2 gene — completely unpredictable, undetected during pregnancy. Nothing could have prepared his parents for what would follow. Around 6 months old, they noticed something was different: Cannon wasn't yet sitting up on his own, wasn't rolling over independently.
They brought it to their pediatrician, who connected them with a neurodevelopmental team. That team first diagnosed mixed-type cerebral palsy, linked to low muscle tone in his trunk and core alongside spasticity in his legs — a diagnosis that remains part of his clinical picture today. His MRI and EEG came back unremarkable: no brain damage, no seizures detected. A kind of relief, but also a lot of unanswered questions.
It was a genetics team, running a whole exome test, that ultimately put a name to what Cannon was living with: an extremely rare mutation on the LMBRD2 gene.
Facing that uncertainty, his parents wasted no time: physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy began immediately — a decision they consider, today, to have been integral to everything that followed. As his family puts it, with a tenderness that says a lot: "Cannon is the hardest working person we know and has been an incredible blessing to our family. We are grateful for our LMBRD2 community and are committed to further research on this condition."
🧩 The Starting Point
Alongside his traditional therapies, the family looked for something else — a space where Cannon could be pushed differently, believed in, encouraged beyond the prognoses he'd been given. That's how they found Forward Stride, an equine-assisted therapy center.
When he arrived, his physical challenges were significant: he could hold his head up and prop himself on his arms to sit briefly, but couldn't sit unsupported. He could move across the floor, but without the reciprocal, alternating leg movement typical of crawling — "nothing in his legs," in the words of Sheila, his equine specialist. Placed in a standing position, he could bear weight through his tone, but couldn't yet pull himself up to stand.
Support Forward Stride : https://forwardstride.org/donate/
🐴 What Forward Stride Changed
In this new video, discover his journey through hippotherapy and his everyday resilience.
That's where Cannon met Sheila, his equine specialist, who remembers their first meeting:
"Cannon came to see me quite a while ago. His family was concerned. He had a diagnosis from a doctor. He wasn't meeting his developmental milestones. He wasn't developing as a normal child, and his parents wanted something different. He was seeing other therapies, more traditional therapies, and they wanted something more challenging and just a little bit different."
Where other providers had often framed things in terms of what Cannon might not be able to do, his parents describe Sheila taking the opposite approach from day one:
"We originally started and met Sheila and he was a little, I think, uncertain at first, just trying something new. But Sheila really — I just adore her so much because she really always just believed in Cannon so much and really pushed him. I think with other doctors, it was a lot of like, 'here's what he may not be able to do.' And Sheila, I feel like, was the first person I really chatted with that threw all that out the window and was like, 'Oh, he's going to be able to do this.' And who really believed in him. And so she just made us feel so good."
And on what the center means today — including the role of Melissa, his speech therapist:
"Cannon quickly learned to love Forward Stride and he is so excited when he's here. He wants to wave at everybody. I think Forward Stride has really allowed him to find his confidence, and we've really seen that blossom — here and at home and just at school, which has been amazing. And Melissa just has really helped him find his voice, and we're such a big fan of hers. He looks forward to seeing her every week, and she's just amazing. I think between the physical benefits and the core strength that we've seen him build up, and then on top of that, working with Melissa on the speech as well, we've seen a lot of benefits. And I think it gives him more confidence, and we see that in different areas of his life, and it's definitely shining through."
🌿 Beyond Cannon: What This Kind of Therapy Offers Families
Cannon's experience isn't an isolated case. Forward Stride itself frames its mission around this ripple effect, describing how, alongside the horses, its programs help participants "learn, grow, and heal," with emotional, cognitive, and physical milestones reached and lifelong friendships forged along the way.
Research on families like Cannon's points in the same direction. A review of equine-assisted therapy studies found that parents often describe feelings of respite during sessions and a reduction in stress, thanks to the welcoming nature of the equine environment. Some parents, researchers noted, start using "we" rather than "he" or "she" when talking about the therapy's benefits — experiencing it as something that helps the whole family, not just their child — alongside their own happiness, relaxation, and pride, and fewer day-to-day struggles managing their child's behavior.
Parents of children in equine therapy have also pointed to a quieter, practical benefit: regular contact with instructors, therapists, and side-walkers over time helps open up communication — for the child, and for the family navigating care around them.
For families like Cannon's — carrying an ultra-rare diagnosis, often without a roadmap — that combination of physical progress, a sense of community, and a break from being "on" as caregivers can matter just as much as any single motor milestone.
🎯 Cannon Today: What he's doing now
Crawling and walking with assistance
Attending preschool and beginning to communicate verbally
Building core strength and physical capability through equine therapy
Playing with other kids, swinging, riding his tricycle, reading books, dancing, and spending time with his family
Visibly more confident — at Forward Stride, but also at home and at school
💡 The Road Ahead, According to Sheila
"He's so capable now. He's doing so many things that his family was told he would never do, right? And that's pretty empowering. You don't think your kid's ever gonna do that. He's doing it now, and he's a little kid. He's still got years and years and years left to develop more skills and to do more things and to become more independent and be more Cannon, because Cannon is unique — he's something special, for sure."
💬 Comfort Brings Out His Voice, According to His Parents
"Every day that we show up, he's looking for these people, and he's waving to them, and he's saying hi, and he recognizes all these faces and all these names. And the more comfortable that Cannon feels, the more we see come out of him, whether that be verbally or expressive. So he feels very at home here, and that becomes very apparent with how vocal he is and how much he can truly be himself around these people, because he feels comfortable with them. And they've made that atmosphere and they've provided that for him. So it's been phenomenal."
💙 A Thank You to the Community
"I would say thank you to donors. This has just impacted us in so many ways beyond just therapy. I think donors really bring opportunities — they create joy and connection for kids with disabilities. And we're so thankful, and it means the world to our family, and we're so lucky to be here, and we hope that we can continue to come for years, honestly."
Conclusion
A diagnosis is a starting point, not a ceiling. Surrounded by the right people — and with a horse to help him get there — Cannon keeps becoming, one session at a time, a little more himself.
Thank you to Courtney and Jacob, Cannon's parents, for sharing his story with such courage. A huge thank you also to Forward Stride, the therapeutic riding center that supports him with so much care.
Website: https://forwardstride.org/
Support their programs: https://forwardstride.org/donate/
Cannon's LMBRD2 profile: https://www.lmbrd2.org/superheroes/cannon
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