Elodie's Story
Elodie was born 9 weeks early and weighed 3 lb 12 oz. She was a fighter from the very beginning and did not require any help with her breathing. After 4 weeks in hospital Elodie was discharged with a clean bill of health.
Elodie developed well but was slower at sitting up than her peers and did not crawl properly until she was 15 months old. At 20 months Elodie started walking but walked right up on her toes, feet turned in and she fell every few steps. We were told she was just weak due to her being born early and it was not until she was 2 years and 10 months old that we were told she had cerebral palsy. We were devastated and immediately started researching the different therapies available. That is when we came across SDR and Dr Park and within one month of having a diagnosis we held our first fundraiser.
After 6 months of fundraising and a huge amount of support from family, friends and our local community we had hit our target. Elodie had SDR in St Louis on 13 July 2010 at the age of 3. The surgery went well and was followed by 3 weeks of intense therapy. The results of the surgery were immediately obvious. Elodie's legs were loose and she no longer walked on her toes. After returning from the US Elodie followed a long and intense physio and stretching programme and whilst she got stronger and stronger, there were also set backs whenever she had a growth spurt.
We are now three years post op and Elodie still receives regular strength and conditioning training. SDR has changed her life. She now runs, jumps, skips, rides her bike, plays tag with her friends in the school yard and generally does everything she wants to. Some things take longer for her to learn but she always succeeds in the end. She is a very determined little girl and it is this strength and determination that has gotten her to where she is today. I have no doubt that without SDR Elodie would now be using sticks and would likely have a wheel chair for longer distances.
(Cath, Elodie's mum and trustee of the charity)
Elodie developed well but was slower at sitting up than her peers and did not crawl properly until she was 15 months old. At 20 months Elodie started walking but walked right up on her toes, feet turned in and she fell every few steps. We were told she was just weak due to her being born early and it was not until she was 2 years and 10 months old that we were told she had cerebral palsy. We were devastated and immediately started researching the different therapies available. That is when we came across SDR and Dr Park and within one month of having a diagnosis we held our first fundraiser.
After 6 months of fundraising and a huge amount of support from family, friends and our local community we had hit our target. Elodie had SDR in St Louis on 13 July 2010 at the age of 3. The surgery went well and was followed by 3 weeks of intense therapy. The results of the surgery were immediately obvious. Elodie's legs were loose and she no longer walked on her toes. After returning from the US Elodie followed a long and intense physio and stretching programme and whilst she got stronger and stronger, there were also set backs whenever she had a growth spurt.
We are now three years post op and Elodie still receives regular strength and conditioning training. SDR has changed her life. She now runs, jumps, skips, rides her bike, plays tag with her friends in the school yard and generally does everything she wants to. Some things take longer for her to learn but she always succeeds in the end. She is a very determined little girl and it is this strength and determination that has gotten her to where she is today. I have no doubt that without SDR Elodie would now be using sticks and would likely have a wheel chair for longer distances.
(Cath, Elodie's mum and trustee of the charity)
