Tag Archive 'United States'

Dec 17 2009

Frustrations of Mild Cerebral Palsy

Published by pooch under Cerebral Palsy Articles

When our triplets were born at 27 weeks gestation in 1984, the chances of even going to survive. The odds that they can lead a normal life were much less. We lost our son on the 15th due to a rare heart condition, but the two girls survived. Both suffered various problems premature – patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), jaundice, and other between the two. They said they expect one of them (Jessie) to be mentally retarded. We did not expect the other to be later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. She seemed fine until about 2 years old when he started walking on foot and had some problems with his right arm when used for lifting “heavy” objects.

Two years after the diagnosis of cerebral palsy was made. First, the X-rays were taken by a specialist to make sure their hips that were not turned in then a neurologist performed a CT scan and MRI. Alicia began physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) at the time was 2 ½ years and was placed in a plastic boot by a pediatric orthopedist in his right leg – the one with the worst pronunciation of foot finger foot. When reminded, she could put the foot flat, but could not bend there. After only one year in OT improved his fine motor skills to be released. I still had the “shakes” when lifting something over a pound with her hand just right. Still, it was a great success in learning to write at the age of only 4. She wore the plastic boot to 6 years and then was released from PT and the specialist. While we are very fortunate that she did not suffer mental problems due to your PC, the “soft” has all the diagnostic problems of its own.

When starting kindergarten, Alicia still had hand tremors and walking on tiptoe, if you forgot to put your feet down. A simple tap on the shoulder reminded him to walk flat-footed. (His teacher was wonderful to help with this.) From another child in her kindergarten class suffered from a worst case of intervention (or unprincipled) of CP was qualified to receive both OT and PT through the school. Professor Alice decided that test to see if I could get it. NO – Alicia was already over “grade in all areas of education so that this prevented him from qualifying for any help. Although it is wonderful to know that his mind was not affected in any way, it is very embarrassing for me students who suffer any physical limitations are not allowed to receive help if you are not affected educationally. This is one of the biggest frustrations for the diagnosis of mild cerebral palsy.

As a father who wants his children to succeed in all they try, it is difficult to see her struggle to brush her long hair herself. It is very difficult to see your food without “reminding” her constantly to close the mouth during chewing, (this is not in bad taste that literally can not seem to do) or to have more bite, please! She can pour a cup of tea or water if the pitcher is almost complete – it’s too heavy for her. She has no real coordination in physical education at school, but it is and that’s all that counts so far. She has made great progress, although in one area – he plays clarinet in the band and worked so hard that the chair moved from 12 to 2 this year. This to me is a great achievement! It requires great skill of his fingers.

The diagnosis of mild CP are difficult to live with his son when he “seems” normal for most people. Teachers and friends wonder why she is not able to do many physical tasks and tasks that education does. This is where self-esteem is damaged! It’s been a struggle at times to ensure that everyone is “coordinated” anyway. For years he hated and hated that she was to “get CP. After years of remembering that she is a wonderful person, no matter what, she’s finally become a safe and happy boy.

However, I wonder what is in front of her as she grows. What other simple tasks will be difficult for her? Since she is “normal” in all other areas how people expect me to do “normally?” These are some reasons why the diagnosis of mild cerebral palsy is so frustrating. We hope to be able to do all things, and she can not. But since her mental capacity is not affected, we tend to forget that it has its limitations. It’s so hard not to expect her to be “perfect” in everything he does since he is so good in their schooling. (She had the highest academic average in the 7th grade class last year, what more could you ask for?)

I have to remind myself every day how lucky we are with the two girls. The prognosis was not promising when they were discharged from the NICU. We are very blessed to have two very happy, healthy girls, and is an added advantage that both are successful in school.

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Dec 08 2009

Cerebral Palsy Settlement – Possible Financial Assistance For Your Cerebral Palsy Child

Published by admin under Cerebral Palsy Articles

Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affects the person’s muscle tone, body movement, and motor skills. This condition is usually caused by brain damage that occurs before, during, and after child birth – during the first 3 to 5 years of a child’s life. The disorder is non-progressive and non-curable; but with special equipment, therapy, and treatment methods the conditions may be improved. In some rare cases, surgery can also correct the damage or injury in the brain. People who are living with cerebral palsy can have problems in walking, talking, and performing even the simplest body movement.

Every year, about 2 out of every 1000 children are born with cerebral palsy. As one of the most common congenital disorders of childhood – and even while in gestation and delivery period, these cases have exceeded 500,000 in the United States. And most of these cases are caused by medical mistakes made during pregnancy and child delivery.

The consequences are a growing number of medical lawsuits brought against health care providers (doctors, midwives, nurses, hospitals) and hundreds of families awarded with cerebral palsy settlements. The results from any wrongdoing done to patients by medical professionals are often irreversible but some form of compensation may help ease the burden and suffering that often come with any medical errors.

A large number of malpractice cases that involves cerebral palsy are caused by human errors; however, the lack of malicious intent will not excuse the health care provider(s) who committed medical negligence. No infant or parent should suffer from the honest mistakes of everyone responsible on taking care of them.

Infants may be susceptible to cerebral palsy during these instances:

The mother had an infection during the pregnancy period.

During child delivery, the fetus suffered from lack of oxygen for a long period of time.

A disease in the bloodstream was not detected, treated, and monitored properly.

The baby was premature.

If any of these situations had happened to you or to someone you love, you must talk to a medical lawyer. It is very important for you to file a medical lawsuit as soon as possible, or right after your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The medical lawyer will help you fight for your legal rights and seek financial assistance, through a settlement, for your child’s future as someone who will live with cerebral palsy for life.

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Sep 23 2009

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CEREBRAL PALSY?

Published by pooch under Celebral Palsy Types

Cerebral palsy may be classified by the type of movement problem (such as spastic or athetoid cerebral palsy) or by the body parts involved (hemiplegia, diplegia, and quadriplegia). Spasticity refers to the INABILITY of a muscle to relax, while athetosis refers to an Inability to control the movement of a muscle. Infants who at first are hypotonic wherein they are very floppy may later develop spasticity. Hemiplegia is cerebral palsy that Involves one arm and one leg on the same side of the body, whereas with diplegia the primary involvement is both legs. Quadriplegia refers to a pattern Involving all four extremities as well as trunk and neck muscles. Another frequently used classification is ataxia, Which refers to balance and coordination problems. The motor disability of a child with CP varies greatly from one child to another; Malthus Generalizations about children with cerebral palsy can only have meaning within the context of the subgroups described above. For this reason, subgroups will be used in this book whenever treatment and outcome expectations are discussed. Most professionals who care for children with cerebral palsy understand these diagnoses and use them to communicate about a child’s condition.

As noted above, a useful method for making subdivisions is determined by Which parts of the body are involved. Although almost all children with cerebral palsy can be classified as having hemiplegia, diplegia, or quadriplegia, there are significant overlaps Which have led to the use of additional terms, some of which are very confusing. To avoid confusion, most of the discussion in his book will be limited to the use of these three terms. Occasionally such terms as paraplegia, double hemiplegia, triplegia, and pentaplegia may occasionally be encountered by the reader, these classifications are also based on the parts of the body involved. The dominant type of movement or muscle coordination problem is the other method by Which children are subdivided and classified to assist in communicating about the problems of cerebral palsy. The component which seems to be causing the most problem is often used as the Categorizing term. For example, the child with spastic diplegia has mostly spastic muscle problems, and most of the involvement is in the legs, but the child may also have a smaller component of athetosis and balance problems. The child with athetoid quadriplegia, on the other hand, would have involvement of both arms and legs, Primarily with athetoid muscle problems, but such a child often has some ataxia and spasticity as well. Generally a child with quadriplegia is a child who is not walking independently. The reader may be familiar with other terms used to define specific problems of movement or muscle function terms such as: dystonia, tremor, ballismus, and rigidity. The words severe, moderate, and mild are also often used in combination with both anatomic and motor function classification terms (severe spastic diplegia, for example), but these qualifying words do not have any specific meaning. They are subjective words and their meaning varies depending on the person who is using them.

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