For those of you who don’t know James, the first impression that you would make on meeting him is what a happy, sociable boy he is! I can’t imagine how much more difficult life would be if James was not content.
James was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when he was six months old.
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a term used to describe a group of chronic conditions affecting body movement and muscle coordination. It is caused by damage to one or more specific areas of the brain, usually occurring during foetal development, or during infancy. It can also occur before, during or shortly following birth.
“Cerebral” refers to the brain and “Palsy” to a disorder of movement or posture. If someone has CP it means that because of an injury to their brain they are not able to use some of their muscles in their body in the normal way. Children with CP may not be able to walk, talk, eat or play in the same way as most other children.
CP is not “curable” in the accepted sense, although education, therapy and applied technology can help persons with CP lead productive lives – and this is where Bobath comes in! It is important to know that CP is not a disease or illness. It isn’t contagious and it doesn’t get worse. Children who have CP will have it all their lives.
In James’ case the Cerebral Palsy affects both his physical muscle tone and his mental processing abilities. He cannot walk (yet crawls at 100 miles per hour!) and cannot talk (although he can definitely communicate by smiling and vocalising!). We have no idea how far James will progress and he constantly amazes us with sudden developmental jumps. James loves company (both adults and children) and constantly searches for sensory stimulation. He responds well to intensive, repetitive therapy and this is where Bobath has proved to be so successful.
And what about me?! Well I’m 37, like to keep myself fairly fit and work as a helicopter pilot for Bond Air Services in Glasgow where I fly the Air Ambulance and Police Helicopters. I fancied a bit of a challenge and have always wanted to trek the Inca Trail, so when Mary Baillie at Bobath mentioned in passing about the proposed fundraising trek I jumped at the chance! Couple to that the opportunity to raise some much needed funds for Bobath and I was definitely up for the challenge.
In preparation for the trek I intend to boost my level of fitness by climbing as many Scottish peaks as I can over the coming months (hopefully with the help of my daughter, Chloe, who is 8).
We also love taking James for a walk / cycle with his fantastic "Wike". The most difficult part to train for will be the altitude. It’s impossible to know how the effects of altitude will affect each individual... and I’ve never done anything like this in the past!
Please dig deep with your donations and you are more than welcome to join me for training in the Scottish mountains!
Thankyou,
Craig