My name is India, I'm 5. I was born with a rare combination of heart defects so went to Great Ormond Street Hospital for urgent open heart surgery. The 1st of 4 operations at 3 days old, 3 weeks later I had another but it didn't go well. My heart stopped & for a while no oxygen got to my brain. Mummy said I was “cooled” with ice packs for 3-days after that

My early life was all hospitals and the good news is that the “cognitive” bit (thinking / understanding) of my brain isn't affected. The bit affected is the “motor” part (doing part). They told Mummy I would never walk or talk but Mummy did lots of research, learning a baby’s brain can repair - build “new routes” to do things if given intensive physical therapy

I’m lucky to have such a bossy, headstrong Mummy who pushed for lots of therapy. With everyone working together I managed to start to walk, to say some words. It was obvious that intellectually I was like any other child and when I turned 4 my Mummy’ found somewhere to help me. We went on a big plane for a long time - all the way to LA. Mummy booked me in a 3 week intensive course at the NAPA Center. At first I couldn’t walk more than a few metres without falling. I couldn’t run, jump or skip. I could only say about 50 words and often choked on food They told us it may take 3 months to see results from my work but after 10 days I found I could now walk round a shopping centre unaided. I decided to run, jump and even try to skip. I went from saying just 50 words to saying over 170 words. It’s not easy, the days are tiring for me & Mummy. It’s hard work. Sometimes I cry but Mummy hugs me, tells me it’s all ok, that she's got me, so up I get

The trip to the NAPA Center was like waving a magic wand, it helped me begin to live life in a more ablebodied way. I do fall over sometimes but my walking continues to improve. and I can now say around 250 words. We know the NAPA Center works. I need to go back this year to continue to work so I can get stronger