Sophie's Progress

Sophie's Story

Sophie is our beautiful little girl who was born March 2006 after a very traumatic birth. During labour the unthinkable happened, her heart beat stopped, so she was born by emergency c-section and we were prepared for the worst. She had to be resuscitated and we knew that due to the lack of oxygen to her brain, she would be brain damaged. Her prognosis was poor and we were told that in the unlikely event she did survive she would be severely disabled. The future was looking bleak and not only did Richard and I have to face the challenges of becoming parents for the first time, we had to come to terms with the fact our first child was going to be highly dependant on others for the rest of her life. She has Cerebral Palsy and Hydrocephalus and at the moment, she is unable to sit up unsupported, feed herself, walk or talk and needs assistance with all her personal care.

After 3 years of hard work, dedication, determination and bucket loads of love, she continues to amaze us. She is doing more than the doctor's predicted and although she is behind in her development, she is making remarkable progress. However, the development gap with her peers is becoming wider and we know we can do more. We have come across The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, (website – www.iahp.org) where they raise the abilities of brain injured children through high frequency, duration and repetition of specific exercises.
The first step is for Richard and I to attend the Institute for a five day course, which consists of 50 hours of lectures, demonstrations and practice concerning child brain development. The aim is to enable us to gain more knowledge about the brain and how we can help Sophie reach her potential, by creating an individual stimulation programme. The Institute also offers various other courses which may be suitable in the future.

Our short term goal is to raise funds enabling us to attend the Institute. So come along and join us for a fun walk on Saturday 22nd August at 10 am at the Mevagissey Activity Centre.

If you feel you are able to donate any time and would like to volunteer to help us practice the intense exercises with Sophie, please come and speak to Vicki or Richard.

If all goes well, in the longer term, we hope to become a registered charity to enable us to support other parents who face similar challenges with their children. We may also need to buy specialist equipment in the future, to give Sophie as much independence as possible.

Many Thanks

Vicky and Richard