Reuben was born at 29weeks and we spent 9 long weeks on the neo natal unit being looked after by the brilliant staff, at 14months old we discovered reuben had a large bleed on his brain in which he was treated for at manchester childrens hospital, surgery was a success and we was allowed home 2 weeks later. At age 2 Reuben was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Dispite the difficult start in life and the complications down the line Reuben is always smiling and laughing and doesnt let anything get in his way.
Reuben leads an entirely happy and full life, even if he isn’t able to do all of the same things his friends can do. We are so proud of how far he has come but will always need extra care and support so that we can give him the same opportunities as other 4 year olds.

Reuben has recently met with his consultant who screened him for SDR surgery (selective dorsal rhizotomy) which treats the muscle spasticity that will stop all the tightness in reubens legs, reduce pain if not stop it completely and make things alot easier for reuben to do ie, bathing, dressing and personal care, it could also help improve his chances of standing and hopefully a chance of walking as he develops and gets older.

Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) surgery is a procedure that treats muscle spasticity caused by abnormal communication among the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles. It corrects muscle spasticity by cutting the nerve rootlets in the spinal cord that are sending abnormal signals to the muscles.
SDR surgery is a treatment for cerebral palsy—typically performed on kids who are affected by spasticity. 

Unfortunatly, despite the consultant telling us that reuben will benefit greatly from the surgery, he doesnt meet the criteria for it to be funded by the NHS.

The surgery will cost around £16,000 followed by intense physio therapy taking the total cost in excess of £20,000