Birth and diagnosis story

Birth and diagnosis story




I was born on 1st December 1998, my birth didn’t quite go  as planned. I was due on 6th January 1999. My mum’s waters had broke at 2:20 am and she was rushed to hospital. They gave her an injection to try and stop me from coming, but it had failed to work and my Mum started contracting at 4:10. After just 3.5 hours I was born, but didn’t cry. I weighed 5lbs 4oz. I was struggling to breathe, so I was taken straight to an incubator and hooked to a breathing machine and feeding tube. My parents weren’t allowed to hold me until I was 2 weeks old, all they could do until then was hold my hand through a hole in the incubator. When I was around 6 weeks old ( pretty much my due date ) I was finally breathing  and feeding independently and aloud to come home for the first time. 

 Around a week before I went home, doctors decided to do a scan on my brain because I was a premature baby and it revealed I had suffered a brain bleed. They warned my Mum and Dad that I may have developmental delays, but they weren’t sure. 

At first I seemed to be developing normally, but by the time I was 6 months old it was clear that something wasn’t quite right. When I would be picked up, my legs would cross. I held my hands in a constant fist and wouldn’t reach out for toys. When I was having a bath, my hips would suddenly dislocate and then go back in the normal position.

My parents took me to see the GP and he referred me to a paediatrician and a physiotherapist. I was assessed and was primarily diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, but didn’t know for sure, so referred me for an MRI. Finally at 11 months old it was confirmed that my diagnosis was Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy. At the time I had very bleak prognosis. I was not expected to ever walk, crawl and would have severe learning difficulties.

This diagnosis was obviously a shock to my parents, but also a relief. My early diagnosis  helped me get all of the early intervention. And I surprised everyone and sat up independently at 14 months, crawled at 19 months, walked with a K - Walker at 25 months and walked independently just before my 4th birthday. I’ve also learned how to read, write and count, all at a mainstream school with only mild learning difficulties. 

So for any parents out there, who have a child recently diagnosed with CP, try and get them as much early intervention as possible because it will help them achieve the things that they aren’t expected to do. I will talk more about how CP affects my life now in another blog.

Please share to any new CP parents out there.

See you tomorrow  x

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