Family’s appeal to improve care for disabled Jack, 3

Last updated at 15:38, Monday, 20 February 2012

A FAMILY has launched an appeal to help fund specialist treatment for a severely disabled toddler – and help other children with brain injuries or conditions in South Cumbria.

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The parents of three-year-old Jack Bennett are trying to raise cash to continue a course of care which could dramatically improve the youngster’s quality of life, and offer services to others.

Jack, of Gleaston Avenue, Barrow, was just one when he was diagnosed with a severe form of cerebral palsy, which affects his movement, co-ordination and development.

For first-time mum Joanne Bennett, 36, the news came as a huge shock. She was warned that her son would have to use a wheelchair and he may never be able to communicate with her properly.

Doctors at Furness General Hospital began a course of treatment including speech and language therapy and physiotherapy, but there were limitations to the level of care medics could provide.

Weeks before his second birthday, the tot went on a hospital-arranged visit to Bobath Centre in London, which specialises in the treatment of cerebral palsy in children.

But after Jack suffered a seizure during the journey and was forced to spend time in hospital in Middlesex, Mrs Bennett knew the strain of travelling so far was too much for her young son.

Jack’s physiotherapy appointments in Barrow reduced to once a month, with additional slots offered to the family from time to time.

And with her other son, five-month-old Daniel to look after, Mrs Bennett began to worry about her son’s development.

She said: “I didn’t even really know what cerebral palsy was. I didn’t realise how much the condition affects everything you do, it all becomes so much harder.

“It is not easy. I can’t imagine what Jack goes through to attempt to do what everyone else takes for granted.

“The physio at FGH was more general but I knew after the trip to Bobath I could not put Jack through that stress again.”

It was then that she and husband Paul looked into children’s charity the Legacy Rainbow House, a centre of excellence for children with brain injuries in Ormskirk.

The tot, a pupil of the Old Vicarage Nursery in Barrow, began receiving Conductive Education, a more intense form of habilitation that aims to allow people with cerebral palsy to live more active and independent lives, in September last year.

Since then, he has learnt to do things his family thought might never be possible, including everyday tasks other people take for granted, such as putting on his own shoes and learning to say ‘yes’.

Mrs Bennett said: “In terms of Jack’s intelligence, he always seems to be keeping up with other children in that sense. He had gone through really bad frustration. There has been biting, pulling hair and tantrums.

“Now we are getting to understand more of what he wants, it is coming down a bit. We can understand a few words he is saying. He is able to say ‘yes’ and has said ‘mummy’. He has always made a lot of noise, but now he is really trying.

“He’s very close to sitting cross-legged on the floor unsupported. We’re not there yet, but that would be amazing.”

For a short time, Jack’s visits to the Legacy Rainbow House were funded by Cumbria’s cerebral palsy charity, but Mrs Bennett and her husband have been footing the bill themselves since it ran out.

With expensive treatment and travel costs, the pair cannot afford to keep sending Jack there without help. But instead of asking for money solely for Jack, they are determined to raise £30,000, which would pay for a conductor and a facilitator from the charity to deliver conductive education in Barrow once a week. It is estimated this would enable services to be offered to at least seven children.

Joe Mawdsley, founder of the Legacy Rainbow House, said: “We used to have the service in Kendal but when we opened the house we had to stop it due to funding. This is such an unselfish appeal. The family want to help other parents with children going through similar in the area. If we can get a conductor to visit once a week, it is much more cost effective than them having to travel.”

To donate to Jack’s appeal, visit the website http://www.justgiving.com/JacksAppeal or for more information on how to help, contact Mrs Mawdsley on 07789 228213.

First published at 13:09, Monday, 20 February 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk

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Family’s appeal to improve care for disabled Jack, 3