Ok, here goes my first Blog!

It seems that if I don't have something to obsess about, I will go insane. Or so someone bigger than me has decided. I was worried about what I was going to fill my mind, my heart, my google search block with after I was finished with TTC. But not to worry now I have an even bigger subject that is never going to go away and that is Cerebral Palsy.

Definition : Cerebral Palsy can be defined as a "persitant (but not unchanging) disorder of movement and posture, as the result of one or more non-progressive abnormalities in the brain, before it's growth and development are complete. Other clinical signs may be present as well."

Type of Cerebral Palsy: Athetoid or dyskinetic
caused by the impairment of the basal ganglia area of the brain, it is caracterised by involuntary and uncontrollable muscle tone fluctuations, sometimes involving the whole body. The muscles alternate between being floppy and tense and there will often be difficulty in maintaining posture. The person usually has full range of movement in their joints, but not the stability or co-ordination to control their movements.

Unwanted movements may be small, rapid, irregularly repetitive, random, and jerky, sometimes refered to as choreic movements. The unwanted movements may also be of a long slow, writhing nature. Someone with athetosis will often appear restless and constantly moving, only being still when fully relaxed and sometimes only when asleep.

The movements will often become worse when the person is excited or is attempting to do something.

Speech is nearly always affected to some degree, because of difficulty in controlling the tongue, breathing and vocal chords. Similarly there may be difficulties with eating and, the person may drool.

So where are we now?

Well we have three independant opinions that this is the diagnosis. Can't really argue with that now can we.
So far we are working hard with physio and working towards stopping the "bad" patterns before they start.
And in another 6 months we are going to start all of the testing, just to confirm we are working with the correct diagnosis.

So here's to the rollercoaster ride and our admission to this elite group of parents who are classified by society as special enough to experience angels on earth. I am going to dedicate this blog to my daughter and all of the parents who have and will still find themselves where I am today!