About Vigo
Vigo was born full term in September 2008 weighing 8lbs 10oz. He was born with a
severely dislocated hip, knee and ankle, had a very high temperature and spent 3 days
in SCBU (Special Care Baby Unit) where he was given antibiotics and tube fed until he was well enough to come
out.
At 6 months old Vigo suffered a febrile convulsion (a seizure brought on by a high
temperature) and developed a virus, he was taken to The Evelina Childrens Hospital
where we spent two terrifying weeks. During that time Vigo underwent a multitude of
tests and examinations including two lumbar punctures, an EEG (brain scan), an MRI
scan of his brain under a general anaesthetic, a ECG (heart scan), a CT scan of his brain,
kidney scan, a 24 hour oesophageal ph monitor examination and 18 blood tests.
Vigo was diagnosed with Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL).
PVL basically translates to ‘white matter damage’. The white matter of the brain controls
movement and mobility. PVL is non progressive so the damage won’t get any worse but
there is no cure. PVL almost always leads to Cerebral Palsy. Two weeks after we left The
Evelina, Vigo was diagnosed with Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy. Meaning all four
of Vigo’s limbs are affected. I was told he would ’never walk, never run and never kick a
ball’ |
 |
Spastic Quadriplegia affects the nerves between the brain and the muscles causing some
of the muscles to be very tight and painful almost all of the time. This makes sitting,
standing and walking almost impossible for Vigo, he is physically unable to stand or walk
independent of aids. Vigo cannot balance, run or jump. He cannot get off of the floor on
his own or climb steps. He is unable to dress himself, brush his hair or teeth, he also has
trouble using cutlery – all the things that you or I don’t even have to think about are
simply impossible for Vigo to accomplish.
Vigo is unable to join in playground games and activities with his friends due to his
lack of mobility, this is upsetting for him and he also finds it very frustrating. Most
three years olds kick a football, play catch and generally bomb about – Vigo has never
experienced any of these activities.
 |
Vigo is unable to join in playground games and activities with his friends due to his
lack of mobility, this is upsetting for him and he also finds it very frustrating. Most
three years olds kick a football, play catch and generally bomb about – Vigo has never
experienced any of these activities.
In order to temporarily reduce the tightness & pain in his limbs we perform stretches
and have an intensive physiotherapy programme that we carry out daily at home. He
has weekly hydrotherapy and horse riding sessions which he really enjoys. These are
excellent forms of physio and are key to developing his core strength and balance.
To get about at home Vigo commando crawls, uses his Kaye walker or Kidwalk which
he can only manage for very short periods of time and has to be fully supervised. Vigo
gets incredibly tired very quickly so when we are out and about Vigo has a specialist
pushchair which supports his trunk and straps his legs into place. |
Vigo’s ankles roll in quite severely so in order to try and correct this he wears leg splints
(AFO’s), sock and shoes from the time he gets up until he goes to bed. Plaster casts are
made of Vigo’s legs and then the splints are formed out of hard plastic. They are hot and
uncomfortable but are imperative in stopping ankle deformities.
Every morning Vigo stands for an hour in a standing frame which helps his hip development. Most children with CP develop some kind of hip problem and we have just
discovered Vigo has 20% hip dysplasia - meaning the ball of his hip is 20% out of the
hip socket – this will continue to get worse and he will almost certainly require major
surgery to correct this in the coming years.
If you would like to donate please click here |
|
|
