Committed to the Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy therapy and rehabilitation of Shea French Gibbens | Email: sheais007@yahoo.co.uk
 
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Sheas' Family
Why Shea has Cerebral Palsy
What Cerebral Palsy means for Shea
What is he like now?


About Shea

Sheas' Family
Consists of Mum Viv and Dad Mick and 2 brothers Aaron and Vinnie.

Why Shea has Cerebral Palsy
Shea was born 13 weeks early weighing 2llb and 3oz. He was so small you could hold him in the palm of your hand. Shea needed to be ventilated as soon as he was born. Although this saved his life it also caused his lungs to collapse and for him to have a brain haemorrhage.

At eight months of age Shea’s legs were very stiff and his right arm was always bent at the elbow and his fist clenched. He could only lie on his back with his legs straight out in a scissor position. He couldn’t roll or sit up and never kicked his legs as babies usually do. It was at this time that Shea was diagnosed with Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy.

What Cerebral Palsy means for Shea
Shea has quadriplegia which means that both his arms and legs have limited movement. He has quite good function in his left hand but his right is quite unusable and his leg function is somewhere in between these two extremes. This means that Shea is unable to walk or crawl independently.

What is he like now?
Shea is now 7 years old. We were told that he would never speak – he can (too much at times), he would never be able to eat solid food – he can, never be able to sit unaided – he can, never weight bear – he can. Shea has achieved so much more than we led to believe he would. He attends a mainstream school and is an enthusiastic and popular student. He loves computer games and has an adapted mouse. He goes to riding for the disabled and rides his adapted tricycle. He is funny, cheeky and loves nothing more than playing with his brothers and cousins. One day he’s a Jedi Knight or Clint Eastwood the next he’s James Bond.

For Shea though, to access most play situations he needs a helper to move him around, change his position, get things for him. To join in at the school disco he needs to have someone to stand him up and support him, to draw a picture or write he needs someone to hold the paper still because his right hand can’t do it for him.

My one wish would be for Shea to have some form of independence and I know it’s his dream too. He sometimes says to me ‘mum, why have I got cerebral palsy, why can’t I walk and do stuff like everybody else’. He’s already been given the clinical answer but that isn’t what he wants. What he wants to know is why is life so unfair and do you know what, sometimes so do I.

But there is hope! Read on >>>