Happy Birthday!

Today Masha's Birthday. She turned 4 years old. Smiles and good mood to you, my daughter! And, of course, delicious cake. By the way, Masha is still a sweet tooth :) but, in General, she eats healthier than all of us - fruits, vegetables, porridge and yogurt - this is her daily diet.

And yet: a week later Masha goes to Warsaw for a month of intensive rehabilitation. We hope that the course will be effective, and, in particular, exercises with a speech therapist — and a year later she blows out the candles on the cake!

Course in Wroclaw, autumn 2017

Now Masha is undergoing a two-week course at the Wroclaw rehabilitation center. Every day for three hours with short breaks Masha is engaged with the therapists, by different techniques: dynamic neuromuscular stabilization, physical therapy PNF and Vojta. I did not think that we will return to the Howl again after 2 years, but when checking the body gives the right and good reactions, much better than in infancy, so it is recommended to return the exercises to our daily lives. The massage table has been returned from the storage room and now I am again turning from my mother into a merciless therapist for a few tens of minutes a day. Ruthless, because you have to, reluctantly, endure the tears of the Machine during exercise, so this technique. The purpose of our classes is to reduce involuntary movements, improve head control and hand function.

In addition to physical therapy, Masha is trying out an innovative computer system C-EYE ("cyber-eye") - the development of Gdansk Polytechnic University, which is able to calculate on which image the patient's eye focuses-on the basis of this, games have been created, developing classes and alternative communication.

Why we created this blog?

Almost for 4 years Masha has been with us, and all this time we still continue to look for ways to help her to master such simple things for someone, but not for her: walking, talking, chewing and holding a pencil... This blog is one more way. It is the path to the hearts of friends and strangers with begging for help. So far, we managed on our own. But the cost of technical devices (stroller, verticalizer, armchair, orthoses, special costumes, etc.) and intensive rehabilitation courses are becoming more and more tangible.

Therefore, we ask those who can help - help Masha do the first step!

Here we go!

For three and a half years Masha got used to and realized that physical exercises are a necessity and a part of her life. With age, she also became hardy and no longer falls asleep in half an hour of classes, but can withstand two-hour intensive therapy. This year we visited the next rehabilitation center, in Warsaw, the center "Olinek". There, our child slowly but surely began to try to take the first steps with the help of a therapist. Experts say that it is necessary to continue studies to consolidate the effect and, perhaps, in a few years Masha will be able to move with the help of walkers.



Of course, walking is just one of the tops to which we climb. In intensive studies, Masha works both on sleight of hand, speech and food intake.

Day by day

Particular form of cerebral palsy, indeed, as promised clever books, is difficult to be physically rehabilitated. But it's much easier for us to go through habilitation and socialization, because Masha has attended a kindergarten since she was 3 years old.

Of course, this is an unusual garden for unusual children, but integration sessions with healthy children are also conducted regularly. In the kindergarten Masha has daily individual and group lessons. She happily go there every morning.

In addition to physical rehabilitation, speech therapy, sensory integration, children are engaged in creativity: modeling, drawing and handicrafts. Unfortunately, this is obtained from Masha only with the help of "hand in hand". But she tries very hard.

Before and after

When Masha was born, we did not hear her voice. She gave us a weak and plaintive cry only on the day of discharge from the hospital. And since then, every day, the power of her vocal chords has grown, until it became obvious that the silence in our house is now an infrequent guest. The forces inherent in nature were awakened.

Memories. 3%

Masha was born on December 23, 2013. Her appearance at the eve of the New Year holidays was to be the most significant and long-awaited gift for our entire family.

But, alas, the New Year holidays from 2013 every year in memory of the pain and joylessness of the experience. Although life goes on and time heals, the soul and mind are subdued, and we adapt ...

Welcome!

Welcome and let's get acquainted. My name is Natalia, I'm Masha's mom, and this blog will be about her. Masha is 3.5 years old and has cerebral palsy (hyperkinetic form/athetosis, secondary microcephaly).

Our daughter was supposed to be a healthy child, but at the last minutes of birth something went wrong, and as a result she was born in the hardest condition of acute asphyxia one step to death. Thanks to resuscitation, her heart began to beat again, but the brain managed to suffer a lot, in particular - the parts responsible for coordination, purposeful movements.

Masha is a smiling and cheerful child who understands and loves to learn a lot. But physically she cannot do anything without help: to sit, eat, walk, and also talk - but she talks with a look and mimicry. Almost every day since birth, Masha attends the classes to improve her ability to control a body.

We want to do everything for Masha to be able to control over her body and the enjoyment of her own movements. But, unfortunately, the road to this goal is much longer and more difficult than we could imagine. I will share this path on the pages of this blog.