MY BABY, MY FLOWER

Peter and his mother first visited our facility on 25th Jan, 2019.Initial Occupational Therapy Assessment was done and it was established that he had delayed milestone from walking and poor balance in standing due to weak muscle power. Since the first day of assessment he has been receiving therapy at our facility twice a week which was later reduced to once a week after our monthly reassessment which showed some improvement.

Peter who suffers from hydrocephalus.

In areas like Mukuru there are various conditions in newborns but Peter’s was unique to the mother and the community at large. She got lots of advice from relatives and friends some which were positive and negative equally. Her big relief came when she visited a National Referral Hospital with Peter and found out he suffered from hydrocephalus. At the hospital, the mother had a chance of interacting with other parents who had children with the same condition. It was at this point when a shunting procedure was done after thorough examination. The mother’s dedication to see son achieving normal developmental milestone was enormous. Immediately after Peter’s procedure they were advised to be attending therapy which she started at Kenyatta but due to financial constraint they were not able to attend all therapy appointments. She came to hear that Ruben Health Centre provides therapy session at subsidized price. With the rehab team she was so dedicated with the therapy sessions and could follow up home programs and could even call to inform when she will not be available. This made it easier for Peter to surpass the delayed milestones and right now Peter is walking without support. As rehab team we are preparing to integrate him to our special unit.

Having a child with special needs is not easy as it takes heart to raise one. At our department we have group therapy which Peter’s mother took seriously, here they share personal experience and what it takes to bring up a child with special needs. With that we’ve been able to give courage to such mothers and through this we are seeing a lot of improvement of new cases coming out for therapy. Peter is a good example of bringing hope back where it was lost.

Peter is jovial, playful and mischievous as any other child but his smile warms the heart most. This story should be a wakening call to all parents who are having children with special needs to take them for therapy.

By Fredrick Mitieng’

Edits: GB