Isabella, Somerset
Oxygen deprivation at birth resulting in cerebral palsy
Shaun tells us about his daughter’s traumatic birth and how she’s inspired him to take on RideLondon, a 100 mile cycling challenge, in aid of Sparks
Sponsor Shaun for RideLondon here.
Birth
During Isabella’s birth, it became clear things weren’t right. Isabella’s heart beat was very high and Emma contracted a severe infection. As soon as she was born, Isabella had to be resuscitated before she was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It was at that point that we were asked if we wanted to take part in the cooling and xenon trial and we thought that if anything could make a difference, it was worth doing.
A few weeks later, Isabella had her MRI scan. The results were not good, so much so, it was a miracle she was alive. It showed that, as a result of severe damage to her brain, she had cerebral palsy. The sudden realisation that our child would need a lifetime of care hit home.
At home
Initially Isabella had a feeding tube and I had to change this every week at home. This was one of the hardest things to cope with; inserting a tube down your daughter’s throat and the responsibility of ensuring it was in the right place. She also suffered with reflux which meant that it was sometimes difficult to determine if the tube was correctly positioned, so we had several trips to the Children’s hospital to ensure that it was. It was all made worse because Isabella kept pulling it out although eventually we found a tape strategy that worked. After about 15 months Isabella had a PEG installed to continue with her feeding. Going back to the hospital where it all started and spending another couple of days there was really difficult, it brought back so many memories. Isabella is now pump fed three times a day.
The future
We have to support Isabella in all the things that we all take for granted in life; eating, drinking, talking, walking, so it’s a huge responsibility and intensively demanding, but we love every minute with her.
You have to take each day as it comes. You will have bad days when you wonder why this happen to my child but then there are the good days with the memories that you cherish forever.
Isabella is a very sociable little girl; she enjoys her music, especially her weekly sing and sign group. She loves messy play and has produced works of art that Picasso would be proud of. She goes to hydrotherapy once a week and absolutely loves bath time because the warm water relaxes her muscle tone and enables more free movement. Isabella is a very determined little girl and has the most adorable pronounced bottom lip when she doesn’t get her own way.
You can sponsor Shaun’s RideLondon challenge here.