"Louis was nearly two years old when he missed his walking milestone. He is my youngest of three boys so I was able to compare him with his older brothers. He was a premature baby and came 5 weeks early. I noticed that he didn’t sit on his bum but would sit in a ‘W’ position. You can say it was a ‘mother’s instinct’ but by 18 months I knew there was something else going on. My GP referred us on to Enable Ireland before we had any official diagnosis for Louis and from the first contact with the Enable Ireland team I felt my concerns were listened to.
We got a referral for an MRI and, a few months later, Louis’s CP diagnosis was confirmed. But the support from Enable Ireland happened straight away.
"Louis met with the physiotherapists and we were put in touch with a councillor and social worker. That early support and expert information were key to helping us support Louis better."
In terms of support from Enable Ireland, Louis has benefitted from physiotherapy, occupational therapy and hydrotherapy. The occupational therapist helped with his posture, for example sitting correctly. They also made sure when he started preschool that everything that he needed was in place. They made it such an easy process for us. He loved the hydrotherapy sessions as well.
The physiotherapy with Louis is ongoing and we use home programmes to keep working on his muscle strength up. Before he was walking, he didn’t want his mum and dad holding his hand to walk but he needed the support. So when he got his first walking frame just before Christmas at 2 years and 4 months old he loved it. He was finally independent and able to fly around the place on his own, just like his older brothers.
He plays Gaelic football using his walker and also enjoys horse riding and swimming. As he gets older, he is realising that he will have CP forever but he doesn’t let that stop him. He started swimming independently recently and he has learned to ride a bike with stabilisers.”
