Kamis, 26 April 2012

Cerebral palsy: Boy who was confined to wheelchair is on his feet after £45,000 operation in America

Cerebral palsy: Boy who was confined to wheelchair is on his feet after £45,000 operation in America

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 07:41 EST, 25 April 2012 | UPDATED: 06:37 EST, 26 April 2012

Up on his feet: Hari, two, now loves jumping in puddles

Up on his feet: Hari, two, now loves jumping in puddles

A boy can now have fun splashing in puddles after life-changing surgery in the U.S helped him to run and jump for the first time.

Hari Kieft, 2, was diagnosed with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy after being born 10 weeks premature, leaving him confined to a wheelchair.

His devoted parents Cerianne and Richard feared he may never walk and play like other children.

But, after friends and family raised a staggering £45,000, he jetted out to St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri for a life-changing surgery.

There, neurosurgeon Dr Tae Park performed an operation to cut the nerves in Hari’s spine to release the spasticity in his legs.

Now, just five weeks later, Hari is on his feet for the first time.

Mrs Kieft said: 'It’s a new beginning. That is how it feels. We’ve almost got to the stage where we forget that Hari used to get around by crawling, even though that was only five weeks ago.

'Now he has discovered puddles - he loves jumping in puddles.'

Mr Kieft added: 'In the playground he can play a lot more than he did before because he has the ability to get around.

'Before we would have to hold him or go on the playground rides with him.'

Hari, who turns 3 next month, from Neath, South Wales, has now been walking for five weeks - and will undergo physiotherapy aftercare.

When asked what the surgeon did for him, Hari immediately chirped: 'He fixed my legs.'

Mrs Kieft said: 'We are still in touch with the hospital. There’s a Facebook page linked to the hospital and you can post messages, pictures and videos.

'Hari’s new skill is being able to stand and pick up objects from the floor. We put that on Facebook and we had an email off the physiotherapist, who was really thrilled with his progress.

'Because of his determination and his progress they are very interested in Hari, because he has exceeded all expectations.'

After the operation: Hari with his mother Cerianne, father Richard and sister Olivia

After the operation: Hari with his mother Cerianne, father Richard and sister Olivia

Hari starts school later this year and won't have to rely on a wheelchair or walking frame to get around.

Although they were apprehensive about the spinal surgery they said they are now convinced they made the right decision.

Mrs Kieft said: 'Belief and faith got us to America.

'If we didn’t believe Hari would walk and if we didn’t have faith in Dr Park, we would not have got there.

'This is not a cure. It is an opportunity for a child to have a better quality of life, and for Hari that means walking and independence.'

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Some friends of ours took their little boy out to have this operation 3 weeks ago. Nice to hear so many positive comments and a shame our NHS is so unwilling to help!

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Wonderful

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Excellent. Some rare good news. Best wishes to the family and that little guy!

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SB, Windsor, 25/4/2012 19:30 - I dont understand why the NHS provides free medical care to non-entitled immigrants yet your friend's grandson is not able to get the health care he needs. So unfair. I wish him all the luck and support in the world x

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Good luck little fella!

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my cousins daughter has this operation 15 months ago, at age 9, again in st Louis by Dr Park. She is doing amazingly. From being wheelchair bound or crawling around the house she can now walk with minimal assistance and the improvement in her confidence and general well-being is immeasurable. They have started to do this on the NHS in bristol but most PCTs won't fund it, especially the physio afterwards as they often say it is too risky an operation. The reason it has not been done here before is that there was also no one qualified to do it, but the bristol surgeon went to st Louis to train with Dr Park

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A lot of families are having to raise vast amounts of money to get this operation done in the US, it would be good to raise money to send a few doctors out there to learn how the techniques of the operation so that they're able to treat people back in the UK. The UK needs this expertise.

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Just remember this next time people harp on the US and our healthcare. Amazing things do actually happen here.

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So happy for little Hari I hope he has fun jumping in puddles now he can finally run around x

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That's fantastic, such joy :-)

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