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Below is a bit more information about who Bobath Wales are, what they do and what I'll be doing to try and raise money.

Who are Bobath Wales?

Bobath Children's Therapy Centre Wales is a registered charity that depends on donations and the fundraising efforts of friends and supporters to enable them to see every child with cerebral palsy who needs them. Children from every part of Wales come to the centre for specialist therapy. They accept children regardless of the severity of their disability. By helping Bobath Children's Therapy Centre Wales, you can make a real and positive difference to children in Wales who have cerebral palsy.

The demand for this specialist service is growing with many new referrals every year. To enable Bobath to continue to provide specialist therapy to these children it is imperative that they continue to raise the money to see every child who needs them.

What is Cerebral Palsy?

It is a permanent disorder of posture and movement resulting from brain damage occurring in the baby or young child.

Cerebral palsy is the name given to a group of conditions that occur before, during, or in the first two years after birth. These conditions result from damage to the brain. The damage affects the messages being both received by and sent from the brain, and the way in which the brain interprets the information it receives. Among the functions that cerebral palsy can affect are movement, sensation, perception, cognition, communication, and eating and drinking. In some children, all of these functions are affected, but other children may only have one of these problems.

 

So why is Bobath important to us as a family?

The primary reason for my bicycle challenge is for my son Tomi. Just a few days before Tomi was born he unfortunately had a stroke which consequently left him with a weakness on the right side of his body (congenital Hemiplegia). Tomi is now 4 years old and is a happy little boy who loves doing everything all other children do at his age. Tomi however, unlike other children of the same age will require lifetime physiotherapy and specialised input to ensure that he reaches his full potential in life.

Fortunately for us as a family when Tomi was about a year old we were introduced to Bobath. Bobath is a centre of excellence for children with Cerebral Palsy based in Cardiff, which is approximately a 10 min journey from our home. This Unique centre is the only centre in Wales and therefore children from all over travel to this centre to receive their block of therapy.

Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales  provides specialist physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy for children with Cerebral Palsy. Bobath therapists work together as a team to combine these disciplines to give each child the skills to explore their world, communicate their needs, maximise their potential and so improve quality of life.  

 A four-week block of therapy costs just over £4,000, and Bobath needs to raise over £800,000 annually to run its centre and provide ongoing therapy.

The support and therapy Tomi and us as a family have received from Bobath is invaluable, and this is my way of saying ‘Thank You’

 

So what can YOU do to help?

That's easy...just make your donation.  No matter how big or how small your donation every single penny I raise will go to Bobath and help to carry out the amazing work that they do.  Perhaps more importantly though is that this all helps towards providing children with cerebral palsy the specialist therapy they require to live there lives to the fullest.  So what are you waiting for?

If you you'd like to find out a little more about Bobath just follow this link http://www.bobathwales.org/

This is Bobath Wales' website and will tell you everything you need to know about them, the work they do and even has some wonderful stories about the children they treat at the centre.