By KELLY WILSON
Herald-Whig Staff Writer

Bill and Sara Reichert couldn't have chosen a more fitting name for their little girl:

Hope.

Before she was born, an ultrasound showed that the ventricles in her brain were large, which doctors said could mean anything from "just extra fluid and she will be fine to this condition is not compatible with life," Sara recalls.

"All we could do was hope, pray and wait. We decided that since hope was all we had, that would be a great name."

Five months after her birth, Hope was diagnosed at Children's Hospital in St. Louis with Aicardi syndrome, a rare neurological condition in girls that features seizures; lesions on the retina; and absence of the corpus callosum, a key structure in the brain.

Now a year since the diagnosis, the Reicherts, who live east of Liberty, continue to have hope as their daughter makes progress with the help of therapy, medications and a special diet.

Hope faces certain challenges, including developmental delays, but her parents focus on the positive.

"There is no cure for this syndrome," Sara says. "But there is hope."

 'They focus on what she can do'

 Seventeen-month-old Hope sits in a room with her parents and two therapists at First Choice Physical Therapy in Quincy, Kristie Bunch and Mandi Dickerman, on a recent afternoon.

As the girl with pigtails works to sit up, the four adults encourage her by smiling and clapping, telling her: "You're doing a good job. Keep it up."

Later, as she works to put a ball through a hole in a toy, Hope smiles and giggles.

When she starts getting a bit fussy, especially when the therapists work on standing exercises, Mom starts singing, "You Are My Sunshine," and the therapists join in.

It soothes her, and she keeps working.

"What these people (Hope's therapists) do is miraculous," Sara says. "They focus on what she can do, not what she can't."

Hope has occupational, physical, developmental and speech therapy.

"Every six months, we set goals," Sara says. "Right now we're working on getting her to sit unaided, to put weight on her legs and use her left hand more. With her speech, we're working a little with sign language and trying to get her to do some animal sounds."

Sara says Hope's day care provider also works with her on these skills.

Hope's condition does require the use of some adaptive devices.

For example, Bill designed a special seat for Hope because she couldn't sit in a shopping cart. Then when he realized the seat wouldn't work in restaurant highchairs, he redesigned it so it could be used in both settings.

"It's all about adapting," Sara says.

In addition to therapy to keep Hope moving forward, doctors are working to help control her epilepsy.

Hope sees a pediatrician in Quincy, as well as two neurologists and an ophthalmologist in St. Louis. She's on two medications and a ketogenic diet to control seizures.

 'It changes everything'

 Despite the challenges that Hope faces, "there are lots of things she has going for her," Sara says. "She's a very happy, funny kid. She's fun-loving, and she absolutely adores other children."

Sara says Hope loves to be read to and even has a favorite author, Sandra Boynton.

Her personality draws people to her.

"She gets nothing but love and attention all the time. No matter where we are, people approach her all the time," Sara says.

Hope's parents admit that not every day is easy, but they view their little girl as a miraculous gift from God who brings great joy into their lives.

They also say Hope has changed their perspective dramatically.

"It definitely changes everything," Sara says. "We take nothing for granted."

Sara believes she and Bill are better parents because they have to work together to take care of Hope's needs.

She also thinks she's a better teacher.

"Before I was not always tolerant," said Sara, a math teacher at Unity High School in Mendon. "Now with everything I have, I believe every child can learn. And I am a much softer person.

"There really are lots of blessings."

And hope.