Story

Julia is desperate to run around and jump around like other kids, but sadly she can’t. She was born 17 weeks premature. Her development was much slower than other kids’ but doctors had assured me that this was due to her premature birth. We visited a number of different doctors,in search of an answer to her much slower development. After 8 months we finally got an answer – Julia has cerebral palsy. She now needs a specialised surgery known as SDR (Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy), to help minimize spasticity in her legs and to allow her to walk normally.

Unfortunately that surgery is very expensive....

Julia was born on 2nd December 2015. She had the most beautiful features. She weighed only 4.03 pounds. At Birth, we didn’t have the chance to hold her as she had trouble breathing and she was taken to intensive care unit. Luckily her lungs started working properly after two days and we finally went home on Christmas Eve. Julia was the most precious and most wanted Christmas gift for the whole family.

As time and life went on, we began to notice that Julia’s development was very slow. I began to question why at the age of 8 months she still wasn’t sitting? After watching her brother’s development and growth over time, I knew something was wrong. I started searching for help everywhere I could. I tried a number of different doctors, I searched for information online...

Finally someone said that it might be cerebral palsy, and this initital diagnosis broke my heart. I cried louder than my little girl...

Why did it happen to us? Why did it happen to my baby?

As soon as we received the official diagnosis, we began physiotherapy. Our everyday life changed. Physio has now become a part of the daily routine for the whole family. We exercise daily, we attend physio camps for weeks at a time, life has become even busier than it already has been.

Once Julia had turned 9 months old, she began to get botulinum toxin injections to try to minimize stiffness and spasticity in her legs.

Stiffness has been the biggest issue for Julia as it has been affecting her proper development.

Julia started walking when she was 18 months old.

Every day Julia watches her older brothers playing and living a normal childhood. She is desperate to run and play with them like any other child growing up. Unfortunately, she has not been able due to her legs. The stiffness of her legs have not allowed her to be a normal child.

As a mother, I couldn’t take it anymore and was desperate to find a solution to help my little girl and improve her condition. I couldn’t watch the progressing spasticity limit which is stopping her from having a carefree childhood.

This is why we have started searching for help and we have come across this surgery - SDR. Surgery that helps kids like Julia.

SDR (Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy) surgery is a procedure that treats muscle spasticity caused by abnormal communication among the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles. During the surgery, the membrane covering the spinal cord is opened at the lower end of the cord, at the sensory roots entrance. Each of the sensory nerve roots is then subdivided into four or five rootlets. Each rootlet is stimulated to identify the ones that contribute most to the spasticity. These rootlets are then divided. The process is then repeated to all the other nerve roots.

After searching in every possible country in Europe and looking abroad. We eventually found a clinic in the United States that operates on 3 vertebrates and uses a much newer method, and offers three weeks physiotherapy after the surgery. The team at the hospital also has fantastic experience in working with similar impacted kids.

The cost of this life-changing surgery is £46, 000 . This surgery will allow Julia to live like a normal child. This amount does not include the cost of intense physiotherapy when we get back home either. Unfortunately we do not have that kind of money... and that’s why we need your help... Only with your help, Julia will get a chance to live without spasticity and have a normal childhood. She will be finally able to run around with her brothers...

Your help is so greatly appreciated.

Anna x

Julia’s Mother