Katie was born at 38 weeks gestation on September 27th 2003 after an uncomplicated and uneventful pregnancy.

It was apparent from the start that there were a few problems, Katie was a very floppy and sleepy newborn, with little desire to feed. She was born at a very healthy weight of 6lb 8oz but within days had dropped as low as 5lb. She was readmitted to SCBU and fed via NG tube while various tests and scans were carried out. Katie was discharged after 4 weeks with no real diagnosis or reason for her problems. Katie was not meeting any of the regular milestones. For the next few years Katie kept a very full diary, visiting Consultants, Paediatricians, Geneticists, Neurologists, Physiotherapists, Speech & Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Nutritionists and Orthopaedic Surgeons to name but a few. Many, many, many tests and appointments later, Katie in 2007, was finally diagnosed with Extra Pyramidal Cerebral Palsy.

Cerebral Palsy effects people in many different ways, some show minor, sometimes unnoticeable symptoms and others suffer more major, disabling symptoms. In Katie’s case, she is completely dependent on others for all her cares, she cannot talk, crawl, walk or sit, she cannot wash or dress herself, she cannot feed herself and still drinks from a bottle. Last summer Katie had major surgery on both her hips, and was also diagnosed with Epilepsy. Katie suffers regularly from chest infections, an unfortunate risk to people with disabilities like Katie’s, and just recently suffered a bout of Pneumonia, of which she is still slowly recovering from.

Katie is now 5 and a half years old, and is a beautiful and happy little girl who likes lots of one to one attention, she loves music, stories and tapping on her tambourine. She adores her younger twin siblings who in return fetch her toys and books when she is upset. She has got the most infectious smile and a really cheeky giggle, she is adored by all who meet her.

To help Katie meet her full potential and enjoy some of the simple things in life that we may take for granted, I would like to set up a trust for Katie with various fundraising campaigns to help raise money for equipment and other things Katie needs that are not available on the NHS. Currently we are aiming towards raising enough funds to build Katie her very own sensory/therapy room at home.

Click here to find out about Bear Around The World – our first campaign for Katie.