What causes CP? The brain damage that causes CP can occur before the child is born, during birth or in the first few years of life. In most cases, CP is present at birth. Normally, the brain sends out messages telling the body exactly how to move and exactly when to move. Children who have CP have damage to the part of the brain that sends out these messages. This affects the way a child who has CP talks, walks and moves. Certain infections, such as rubella or chickenpox, in the pregnant mother can increase the risk of brain damage in the developing baby and cause CP. Sometimes, a babys brain does not develop properly while in the womb, which can also lead to CP. Doctors dont know for sure why this happens, but in some cases it can be associated with the mothers exposure to certain toxic substances. A difficult labor or delivery can cause CP. This can happen if there is a lack of oxygen in the babys brain during birth. Severe jaundice that is left untreated in newborns can also result in CP. Children who have meningitis or viral encephalitis can also lead to CP. Meningitis causes … Continue reading →

University Hospital Galway Image: Brian Farrell/RollingNews.ie University Hospital Galway Image: Brian Farrell/RollingNews.ie THE FAMILY OF Sadhbh Farrell has received an apology from University Hospital Galway (UHG), after the six-year-old was left severely brain damaged after a delay in receiving treatment for jaundice just after she was born in 2011. A court has ruled an interim settlement of 2.6 million will be made to the family, and UHG has expressed its deepest regret and apologised for its failings of care provided to Sadhbh. In a statement, the Farrell family said that the settlement reached will never remove our ongoing grief for the independent life lost to Sadhbh. Sadhbh Farrell was born on 23 January 2011. Her mother expressed concern within a day that she might be jaundiced and, although jaundice was noted by a district nurse, no further tests were carried out. The family said that babies born at less than 38 weeks Sadhbh was born at 36 weeks are at increased risk of jaundice and that it is mandatory for the serum blood bilirubin to be measured. It wasnt until 31 January that this test was carried out and her bilirubin level was found to be at 756. A level … Continue reading →

On New Year's Eve 2015, Bethan Germon was told her two-month-old daughter had only hours to live. Fourteen months and "numerous miracles" later, little Lydia is still here. However, Bethan, from Swansea, has had to deflect countless unkind comments about her daughter, and has had to push on despite being told to "give up" on Lydia on several occasions. Lydia has hydrocephalus, for which there is no known cure. Something which is especially painful for the family is that this Lydia's condition might have been avoided all together. "People presume you are born with hydrocephalus when in fact you can develop it at any time," the mum-of-two explains. Lydia was born with a complex condition called Dandy-Walker syndrome, which is a congenital brain malformation involving the area at the back of the brain that controls movement and the fluid filled spaces around it. Other than that, however, Bethan points out she was "born healthy." When she was a week old, she was sent for neurosurgery in Cardiff, which marked the start of Lydia's deteoriation. Bethan continues: "The neurosurgery wasn't the right one for her and caused hydrocephalus, which is water on the brain. "Her head leaked cerebral spinal fluid for … Continue reading →