Liam was born on 4 September 2008 and his parents were already in contact with Brainwave when Re:fresh took place in May last year. However, he had not yet visited for his first assessment and Brainwave decided that the money raised would pay for Liam’s first year of therapy with the charity.
“We were so pleased that the fruit and vegetable industry was so generous and wherever possible, we like people who make donations to see where that money is going,” says Drake. “So in effect, Re:fresh and all of the people who kindly bought raffle tickets have sponsored Liam through a Brainwave centre for the last 12 months.”
Liam visited the Brainwave centre in Essex soon after Re:fresh for an initial assessment and was given a programme of therapeutic exercises to improve his muscle tone, head-trunk control and sensory awareness, among other things. He came back for a second assessment by Brainwave therapists in September.
“Liam is a lovely little boy,” says Drake. “He has a great relationship with his parents, who came with him for both of his therapy assessment visits at our Brainwave Therapy SE Centre in May and September 2009. He has been ‘on programme’ with Brainwave for 12 months,” she says.
“Liam’s latest MRI scan back in February 2009 showed he had an abnormality, which has recently been diagnosed as cortical dysplasia. This means Liam suffers from seizures for which he takes medication. When he first came to us in May 2009, he had minimal head control and had only just started to move his arms and legs, and these movements were not controlled in any way.
“From May to when we saw Liam again in September, he showed real improvements and was following his programme successfully. His body was stronger and his head control was improving. Liam appeared to be more active and was trying to move his limbs more by himself. He had a little more control on his movements and was exploring with his hands more, touching his face and touching the sides of furniture at home, as well as putting his fingers in his mouth.
“It was clear Liam and his family had worked hard on his programme. Liam was also more responsive to sounds and to people’s voices. He knew his name and enjoyed rhymes and songs and was able to play with the therapists.
“Liam’s programme was updated in September to continue the family’s work in improving his general muscle tone, body rotation and helping him strengthen his head control further.
“Liam’s mum mentioned at his reassessment in September that she was worried about his feeding, as he was only eating puréed food and bottled milk. She rang one month later to say Liam had had a tube fitted for feeing and he was responding well.
“From January to March, our SE therapy team were back in touch with Liam’s mum a few times, as she was due to come to a third therapy appointment with Liam in February. She said Liam has been very poorly over the last three months and was unable to carry out the programme due to this, so cancelled her appointment in February.
“We continue to stay in close contact with his mum and hope to hear news about Liam’s health and his programme in the near future. And on a positive note, Liam’s mum has very recently rebooked her third therapy assessment for October.
“Our Brainwave families are so amazing and inspiring - however, they have to face many challenges. We all know family life is hectic in general and if you have children with disabilities, life can be that much tougher. Our children usually stay on the programme for two years. With Liam, we hope we will see him again in the autumn and that he will be able to restart his exercises. His mum keeps us up to date on his progress.”
For further information or to offer your support, go to www.brainwave.org.uk or contact Sarah Drake, development manager at Brainwave.
• Mobile phone: 07872 548 449
• Email: sarahdrake@brainwave.org.uk
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