Quinns-quest-to-walk

Hi, my name is Quinn, I am 5 years old and we are raising funds towards the costs of my therapy. I have Cerebral palsy and my dream is to one day walk all on my own.

My story:

I was born prematurely at 30+5 weeks and had a traumatic birth. This left me needing neurosurgery at just 4 weeks old to put a tube in my head, down to my tummy. This is called a VP shunt and it stops my head filling with fluid, hydrocephalus is the technical term.

After many long weeks in SCBU I finally got home with my family.

Since then we have had a rollercoast of issues relating my my diagnosis of Spastic diplegia Cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy is basically damage to the brain before, during or afterbirafterbirth. There are many levels and classifications of CP and each child/person is slightly different.

How it effects me:

My CP traits are low muscle tone in my tummy and high tone in my legs (spasticity).

The muscles in my legs are held in a contracted position and increase in tightness with faster movements or when I'm using my upper body for tasks. This causes my legs to cross over, scissor when I walk. Also a crouch position and toe walking. This means that I am not yet standing or walking independently. I currently use a walking frame to help me move around. Also a buggy or wheelchair and practice with walking tripod sticks. I do daily stetches, practice of all my exercises at home and in school. I attend private therapy 2-3 times a month and have swimming lessons weekly.

At home I like to relax and play like my cousins and friends. I love football, rugby and going on my bike.

I would love to have your support to help me build my muscles stronger so I can progress to walk with my sticks and eventually more independently.

This means I will have to continue with all my hard work and take it up a gear too.

Treatments:

I'm on a wait list to see if botox will help some of the tightness in my muscles. But this is a short term fix.

I am also waiting on a meetings outcome, to see if I can have SDR surgery when I'm a little bigger and stronger. This operation involves cutting nerves in my spine, just the naughty ones that cause my muscles to be tight and hurt.

This procedure can be life changing, it can remove the majority of the spasticity in my legs to allow me to do everything with more ease. I need to work really hard to build my strength before and even harder the months- years afterwards. Recovery and therapy after will be hard but it will be worth it!

We hope NHS can fund this as its super expensive and the therapy will be just as much or even more. We are in the process and hope to find out next steps soon.

Without this operation and all the therapies, massage and stretching, I could end up having contacted muscles (stuck in a tight position) or my hips can dislocate. These would need further operations that will set me back in my goal. I could be unable to use my walker and rely on my wheelchair.

This is why everyone is helping me to keep up all the progress I've made so far. I hope to play football independently with my brother and cousins when I'm bigger.

And mammy and daddy hope I will be able to climb soft play areas on my own too! I don't think they really like climbing it all with me.

My therapy costs a lot unfortunately and mammy and daddy want the best for me.

I would like to ask for your support to help me reach my goals.

Thank you for reading and following my journey.

Love Quinn ❤

7.5% of all donations to Tree of Hope in relation to this appeal will be allocated to the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope to cover our core operating costs.If we raise insufficient funds, or surplus funds, then the funds will be used, if appropriate, to fund support for our child’s needs in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objects.  If in those circumstances we are unable to use all or part of the funds for the benefit of our child in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objectives, then any funds that cannot be used will be transferred to be used for the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope.