Can you support us?

Donate to Tree of Hope today so that we can continue to help children

This is Sam, he’s 23 months old and a very typical cheeky, happy little boy.

He also deals with multiple, often severe epileptic seizures as a result of an as yet undiagnosed neurological condition. Sam experienced his first epilepstic seizure aged just 14 weeks, and was diagnosed with a catastrophic form of epilepsy called infantile spasms 4 weeks later. The severity of the seizures was such that Sam lost all of his abilities, including the ability to smile. Multiple medications were trialled, none stopped the seizures and our little boy seemed to be lost in a fog of chaotic epileptic activity. The prognosis for infantile spasms patients is largely dependent on the cause of the seizures, however it is almost universally grim.

At 11 months of age, Sam’s infantile spasms appear to have spontaneously resolved, he got his beautiful smile back and started to develop again, however his disorder has left him with low muscle tone (hypotonia), severe developmental delays, severe drug resistant epilepsy and sensory processing disorder. He is as yet unable to support his head fully, is unable to sit unsupported and requires a range of specialist equipment and therapies. Despite all these challenges, he is the happiest child imaginable, and smiles almost all the time to the joy of his parents!

Sam undergoes daily, intensive therapy to help his brain to develop and form new connections despite the relentless seizures in addition to physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. He is currently following a ketogenic diet to help control his seizures and continues to do well, however the most important factors in enabling him to shatter his bleak prognosis are his neurodevelopmental and phyiotherapies. Sam is such a determined, tough little boy, we have no doubt with the correct input he’ll prove his prognosis wrong.

Thank you to the Tree of Hope for all their support and help.

Request a callback

Fields marked with an * are required

Fields marked with an * are required