Category Archives: Cerebral Palsy Treatment

For the first time, doctors are studying a treatment that has the potential to stop cerebral palsy in its tracks More than 760,00 children and adults are living with cerebral palsy. It is a group of disorders that can impair brain and nervous system functions. Patients may have issues with movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking. It is caused by injuries or abnormalities in the brain. Researchers from Duke University Medical Center are studying whether infusions of a child's own cord blood could help improve the symptoms of cerebral palsy. "If this is beneficial, it could really change the lives of those children," said Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg of Duke University Medical Center. The theory is cord blood cells can decrease inflammation, coax normal cells into fixing damaged tissues and grow into new cells. "Cord blood cells can graft and grow into some types of brain cells in the brain," said Kurtzberg. Patients in a phase-one trial reported improved speech, mobility and movement. Weston Stephenson's parents banked his umbilical cord blood when he was born. He received his first infusion as part of the clinical trial. "My hope is that we see a miracle, really," said Weston's mother, Jenny Stephenson. Kurtzberg's … Continue reading →

Welsh health officials have been accused of allowing children with cerebral palsy to suffer unnecessarily by refusing to fund an operation to aid their mobility despite many patients in England receiving NHS support. Welsh families have been forced to raise up to 60,000 to pay for Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR), which has been credited with helping many immobile children walk for the first time. Several hospitals in England have begun to perform the pioneering surgery, with a significant proportion being funded through the NHS. But families in Wales have been denied public funding because health officials here have refused to support the surgery, claiming a lack of clinical evidence. The decision is in direct conflict with the verdict of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), which says the treatment can improve limb spasticity in the longer term. WalesOnline understands that approximately 60 children in Wales have been denied funding for the procedure, forcing families to raise huge sums to pay for the treatment. Welsh children who have had the surgery and their parents gathered at a fundraising event in Cardiff on Saturday to show the benefits of the procedure. Cath Wilton, whose five-year-old daughter Elodie was able … Continue reading →

BACKGROUND: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that can impair brain and nervous system functions. Patients may have issues with movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking. CP is caused by injuries or abnormalities in the brain. Most of these problems happen as the baby grows in the womb, but they can also happen at any time during the first two years of life when the babys brain is still developing. In some patients, parts of the brain are injured because of low levels of oxygen. Premature infants have a slightly higher risk of developing CP. Other conditions like bleeding in the brain, brain infections, head injuries, infections during pregnancy and severe jaundice can cause CP. (SOURCE: U.S. National Library of Medicine - The World's Largest Medical Library) SYMPTOMS OF CP: Symptoms of CP may vary, depending on the severity of the disorder, but they usually are present before a child is 2 years old. Some of these symptoms include: muscle tightness, abnormal gait, joint tightness, muscle weakness or loss of muscle movement, abnormal movements, tremors, unsteady gait, loss of coordination, speech problems, hearing or vision problems, seizures, pain, problems with swallowing, and floppy muscles. (SOURCE: U.S. National Library … Continue reading →

CADOTT Tyler Kenealy will tell you his whole life story, sparing few details, if you ask him about it. And its quite a story to tell. For an 11-year-old boy, hes had his share of struggles, even starting before he was born. Mom was shot, which was not the greatest thing in the world, Tyler said, referencing his mother Liz being injured by gunfire in May 2000. She was one of five people shot during a standoff between her then-fiance, Tom Kenealy, and Chippewa County Deputy Bill Kelly in the town of Edson. Liz Kenealy found out after being taken to the hospital that day that she was about 12 weeks pregnant. I said to the doctor, Are you sure you have the right patient? Liz recalls. The hardships didnt end there. Tyler was born on Aug. 24, 2000, about three months premature, with cerebral palsy. A fighter Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that can involve brain and nervous system functions, including a persons movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking. It has several variations, and is usually caused by injuries or abnormalities of the brain either in the womb or during the first two years of life. In … Continue reading →

Looking for a way to pay for treatment for her son with cerebral palsy, one Oregon mom decided to write a book and turned to Kickstarter.com to fund it. Even she was surprised by the result. Former journalist Shasta Kearns Moore wrote Dark & Light: A love story for babies, after noticing that her 2-year-old twin boys loved simple books with little text and silhouettes rather than intricate illustrations. The Portland-area mom hoped that the board book could help fund costly therapies that are helping one of her twins, Malachi Millard, who has cerebral palsy. Rather than look for a publisher, Kearns Moore started a Kickstarter campaign asking everyday people to pledge money toward publication of the book. She hoped to raise $5,000, but has far surpassed that initial goal. The campaign, which ends Wednesday, already has over $9,600 pledged from 244 individuals. Just having people stand behind us and say, Life dealt you a rough hand, but were going to help you make something awesome out of it, means more than I can ever express, Kearns Moore told the Portland Tribune. To read more click here. See original here: Mom Turns To Kickstarter For Help With Son’s Cerebral Palsy … Continue reading →

Kickstarter has become popular as a platform for raising money for creative projects, and now a Portland mom has put it to a double-pronged use: selling a children's board book she wrote to raise money for treating a son with a disability. Shasta Kearns Moore, a former journalist and current Oregonian News Network partner, blogs about her identical twin boys -- Malachi, who has cerebral palsy, and Jaden, who does not, and who turn 2 today -- at OutrageousFortune.net. She recently answered questions by email about her Kickstarter project, a board book called "Dark & Light: A Love Story for Babies," and shared tips for parents of children with disabilities. On 'Dark & Light': "I was laying down to take a nap and thinking about my kids' favorite books -- which were filled with very simple silhouettes. I knew from studies about babies preferring black-and-white pictures that these images were far more interesting and instructive to them than something more complex, like watercolors. But because the books were so simple, and they wanted them read over and over again, I was extremely bored. So in that dreamy space before sleep I started thinking about black and white and how they … Continue reading →

CHRISTIAN Wells is a "happy little boy", even though his cerebral palsy means he can only watch while his two sisters run and play together. The West Kingsdown toddler, now almost two the oldest of three siblings delivered 12 weeks prematurely depends on a frame to walk. Hope: Christian Wells with mum and dad Laura and Steve, and sisters Katie and Dani Christian Wells who has cerebral palsy TWLD20120608H-002_C Christian Wells who has cerebral palsy, with his mum and dad Laura and Steve and his sisters Katie and Dani TWLD20120608H-004_C His mum had laser surgery inside the womb to save all three children and there was a 50 per cent chance of their surviving. All were born safely and are now nearly two but Christian was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 13 months, after his parents Steve and Laura noticed he was not developing at the same rate as his siblings. Doctors believe his condition is due to his premature birth, which broke some of the nerves that connect his legs to his brain. Now Mr and Mrs Wells, of Fawkham Road, are hoping to fly Christian to America for an operation which would enable him to walk unaided and … Continue reading →

Matheny needs to grow in order to take care of those families who need them. With those words, the Rev. John Graf, co-chair of the Spirit of Somerset Awards, introduced Matheny Medical and Educational Center president Steve Proctor and The Friends of Matheny recording secretary Jean Wadsworth to accept their Spirit of Somerset Awards for Education, given June 13 at a special ceremony at the Grounds for Sculpture. Proctor talked about the origins of Matheny and how the original school was founded by Walter and Marguerite Matheny, whose son Chuck had cerebral palsy. He described how Matheny has evolved into a special hospital for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities and how difficult it is for parents to decide that their child would be better off living at the hospital, rather than at home. Wadsworth, a past president of The Friends of Matheny and a resident of Basking Ridge, recalled how, nearly 30 years ago, a small group of relative newcomers to the Somerset Hills organized a fundraising group to support what was then the Matheny School. In the intervening years, The Friends has raised over $3 million to support the work of what has become the Matheny … Continue reading →

A YOUNG girl with Cerebral Palsy has been chosen as one of the good causes to benefit from a charity football match being held in Redditch this summer. Soap stars from Waterloo Road, Eastenders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks and ex-footballers will join forces to take on Redditch United in a special clash at the Valley Stadium on Sunday (August 26). Organisers have set a 50,000 fundraising target for the match which is expected to attract 5,000 fans. The money will be divided between Cancer Research UK and Wish Upon A Smile as well as five other good causes which have now been revealed. Among them is Summer OGrady who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at eight-months-old which affects all four limbs. She had to undergo an operation to remove cataracts in both eyes but has been left with a squint and has to wear glasses permanently. Although she is two-years-old she has the mental age of a 12-month-old and has to have botox treatment to try and loosen muscles in her leg every six months as she cannot stand or walk on her own and needs physiotherapy. She is also being investigated to see if she has a growth or genetic … Continue reading →

Kristi's Kids - Sienna needs your help ${title} Views: ${media:community.statistics.views} Rating: ${media:community.starRating.average} ${created} News Articles Posted 8:20 PM 6/19/2012 : Kristi's Kids - Sienna needs your help Tucson - A tiny Tucsonan, diagnosed with cerebral palsy and microcephaly needs your help. Sienna Pineiro isn't even two years old yet and her skull is hardly growing. For head size, she falls in the 2-5 percentile. She should be higher than 10%. Sienna's mom, Ceres Pineiro, has done extensive research and she says, most of the treatments aren't covered by insurance. Ceres says, "...they're more like let's manage it. Let's get her braces and do those kinds of things'... Some kids with Microcephaly fare well. Sometimes they have a decreased life span and they're slow mentally." The longer Sienna goes, without treatment, the more her head size will fall behind, causing brain damage. Susan Rodriguez, with Rapid Recovery Hyperbarics (in California,) evaluated Sienna and thinks she could benefit from shallow depth hyperbaric treatments. She says, "you're gonna stimulate the skull to grow a little bit more and catch up with her. I don't think she's that far behind. She doesn't appear to be." While Ceres continues good nutrition and physical therapy for … Continue reading →