Christiaan is one of our three miracle children. He is a very special boy who brings joy to everyone whose life he touches. He is always smiling, sometimes he even giggles to himself at nothing in particular and once he bursts into laughter, you will not be able to keep a straight face.
Christiaan has come very far in his short little life. Specialists diagnosed him with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spastic_diplegia. They said he would never be able to walk... Today he runs, swims and plays tennis. Despite his diagnoses he has flourished, he is one very determined young man. He leads a full and satisfying life.
Henrie and I have been blessed with an amazing little boy who inspires us to greater things in life. There are no words to explain his zest for life.
He wakes up in the morning stiff and sore from the spasticity in his muscles but he smiles, teases his sister and enjoys his warm bath, to relax those tight muscles before the day starts. We stretch every morning and evening to keep the spasticity at bay and he also receives physiotherapy at school. On Mondays and Wednesdays he receives additional physiotherapy. He also does strengthening exercises everyday which includes planking, squats and sit ups..
Christiaan has his own team of medical experts such as, physiotherapists, General Practitioner, Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist, ADD specialist, orthopaedic surgeon and paediatric neurologist. It is important to have such a team of experts in order to ensure that Christiaan receives optimal care. He has a special relationship with each of them and they love him.
Christiaan receives Botox injections every 6 months. These injections are done by paediatric neurologist and under anaesthesia at Sunninghill Hospital.
We are currently investigating and researching a procedure called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy. It has been done in America and the UK for the last couple of years and can apparently also be done in Cape Town. The results are extraordinary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxFlqx2wJ-U
It is believed that Christiaan would walk easier and that he would not have to get Botox every six months, once he has had this operation. He would however have to re-learn how to walk, a mammoth process. We have discussed this procedure with several physio therapists and his paediatric neurologist believes he is the perfect candidate. Once we have met with his orthopaedic surgeon and Occupational therapist we will go to Cape Town and meet with professor Fieggen to discuss whether or not he believes Christiaan would benefit from the procedure. Professor Fieggen performs the SDR procedure here in South Africa. As you can imagine there is still a very long road ahead for us before we make a decision but we have Christiaan's persevering attitude. We will however not make any decisions before we have all the relevant information, all the feedback from the medical experts and most importantly we need to have peace about this.
Our family wishes to thank you all sincerely for your support and encouragement. We can't express our gratitude enough for your contribution towards Christiaan's life.
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