Hemiplegia

Our beautiful, funny and amazing eldest daughter Leonora has Left Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy.

We are extremely lucky as she has it very mildly, and therefore leads a life pretty much like any other 5 year old child, but I feel that this blog would not really be complete without mentioning it, as it has become a very huge part of our lives.

I hope simply to explain a little about the condition. Highlight some fantastic help resources there are out there for families impacted by this condition, and perhaps to offer a space for anyone who wants to ask questions but doesn't know who to ask/how to ask.Once I've worked out how to make this blog easy to navigate, I hope this page will be informative and resourceful.

My little miracle

Knowing how many families are affected by hemiplegia, it is quite a difficult feeling when your child has the condition 'mildly'. Parents of a child without a disability simply do not understand how it feels. Parents of a child with a more severe disability have so much more to worry about. So for any parents out there who slip into this 'mild' category, where you feel devastated about many things but don't feel you can really mention it to anyone, please feel like you can mention it here/comment here.

What is Hemiplegia?

Hemiplegia is a form of Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is a very wide term used to describe brain injuries, and the severity of the condition can vary massively. 

For a full description see this link:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001734/

Hemiplegia literally means hemi - half, plegia - paralysis. It means the brain injury was either on the left or right side, and so the person is affected on the left or right side of the body. In Leonora's case the right side of her brain responsible for gross motor function was affected, so the left side of her body is weak.

Hemiplegia displays itself in muscle spasticity. This means that muscles are really tight. Normal body function is for one set of muscles to contact whilst the opposite set releases, such as the walking movement: the muscles on the front of your legs pull up, whilst your hamstrings and calf lengthen in order to swing your foot through, heel first. Then the movement happens the opposite way as the toe comes down. Most people with hemiplegia toe-walk, ie they cannot release the hamstrings and calf to bring the heel down. This is not because there is something wrong with their leg, it is because there has been damage to the brain. As a consequence, hemiplegia is described as non-degenerative ie. the damage to the brain is done and will not get worse, but in practice the condition can worsen as the child grows and the muscles become more spastic.

Hemiplegia affects ALL the muscles down one side of the body, but can be more noticeable in one area, depending on how the brain was damaged. It is also more visible in the limbs. In Leonora's case it is her leg that is noticeable, however her she only really uses her left hand as an aid to her right, not independently. Her core strength on the left is also weaker, so her balance is poor, and the body's natural way of correcting instability (think sitting on a pony or sitting on a swing, something that moves) does not come naturally to her and therefore is much more frightening than to a non-affected child. This makes simple things like riding a bike, playing on climbing frames, ball pits, jumping on the bed much more of a challenge.

(More to come, I'm too tired right now!)