Growing with Mixed Cerebral Palsy (CP)
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a serious motor disorder caused by damage or trauma to the brain before, during or after birth. The condition typically appears in children before the age of three. “Cerebral” refers to the two hemispheres or halves of the brain, and “palsy” describes any disorder that impairs control of body movement. In cerebral palsy patients, the areas of the brain affected are those associated with the motor systems, which control movement. The motor areas of the brain have either been damaged or there has been a flaw in their development that disrupts the brain’s ability to control movement and posture, producing inability to stand or to walk, poor coordination, poor balance, or abnormal movement patterns. The difficulties of a child with CP are not caused by problems with muscles or nerves. Depending on which areas of the brain have been damaged, patients with CP suffer from different disabilities. My disabilities include muscle tightness or spasticity, involuntary movement, impairment in vision and speech, bladder and bowel control, and contracted muscles in the back of both knees.
Although the effects of CP are irreversible, they may be controllable with physical therapy, medication, and sometimes surgery. In the United States, it affects about 8,000 children each year. Presently there are almost 1 million American adults and children with CP.There are several types of cerebral palsy: Athetoid, Ataxic, Diplegia, Hemiplegia, Double hemiplegia, Quadriplegia, Monoplegia, and Triplegia.
Myleft side of my body is weakerI have trouble with balance
I have Problems visual scanning both eyes
My lift eye is lazy
My vision with glasses 20/30 right eye left eye 20/40
with out don't remember guess 20/50 right eye 20/60 lefteye
I have mixed cerebral palsy and have been confined to a wheelchair all my life.
I am quadriplegic.I have limited use of my left hand +legdue to weakness, plus
Limited extension of left arm, I have full use of right hand is strong
full extension of right arm.
Contracted muscles in the back of both knees + spastic mussel tone in both legs
Also, Prevents from fully stretchingout and extending of both legs
Muscles getverytightallover my body if not worked problems with tightness
and spasticity. The muscles in my legs are too weak to support my full body weight
If I try to stand my entire body shakes and I collapse to the ground.
Quadriplegia is usually accompanied by more severe symptoms of nerve damage interfering with normal muscle movement than the other types. The terms “pentaplegia” or “full body involvement” are also used to describe my case because my head and neck are also affected. Although some patients with full body involvement may have eating and breathing complications due to lack of muscle control, I don’t have these complications. I first experienced impaired motor development when
I was two-years old.Brain injury that results in cerebral palsy may occur during pregnancy or after birth. Congenital CP results from brain injury during pregnancy.
Although it is present at birth, it may not be detected for months. This type of CP is responsible for 70 percent of children with CP. An additional 20 percent are diagnosed with congenital CP due to brain injury during birth giving. Acquired CP results from brain injury in the first few months or years after birth and can result from a car accident, a fall, and a knock or child abuse by parents or relatives. In the U.S., 10 percent of children with CP acquire the disorder after birth. Brain damage could result from a number of factors.
Many pregnant women in the U. S. use prescription and over-the-counter drugs that may have serious effects on the embryo or fetus. Use of psychoactive drugs such as caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine, as well as illegal drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, and heroin may cause many problems to a developing fetus including CP. Coffee drinking by a pregnant woman may cause low birth weight, which is one of the causes of CP. Heavy drinking by pregnant women can be devastating to fetus. Cocaine use during pregnancy is associated with reduced birth weight, length, and head circumference. Cocaine-exposed children at the age of two years experience impaired motor development.
Recent breakthroughs in the use of stem cells give hope to cerebral palsy (CP) patients. The research findings indicate that stem cells from umbilical cords
or bone marrow can be used to cure the brain damage that causes muscle tightness
and spastically in CP patients. They are REPAIR stem cells which are used in China to help with adult with CP and withalmost 100 other neural conditions.
Also, at X-CellCenter in Germany, the patient's ownREPAIR stem cells
are used to treat adults with CP.
Adult stem cell therapy quickly and significantly improves recovery of motor function in animal models for the ischemic brain injury that occurs in about 10 percent of babies with CP. Within two weeks, treated animals were about 20 percent less likely to favor the unaffected side of their bodies and experienced about 25 percent improvement in balance, compared to untreated controls.
Adult stem cells taken from bone marrow and embryonic stem cells taken from umbilical cords have the ability to make different types of tissues. Many clinics in China and other parts of the world have claimed that by injecting stem cells in the spinal cord of a CP patient, the patient recovers from Cerebral Palsy.
A number of researchers have received grants from the National Institutes of Health to pursue whether brain damage that occurs during the birth of babies with CP can be repaired with stem cell transplants. Preliminary data on animal models have shown that mature stem cells from the bone marrow will migrate to the site of brain injury. Researchers are hoping that putting additional stem cells in the canaugmentrepair Researchers at DukeUniversity have reported the successful treatment of two two-year-old girls with CP using their own cord blood that has been preserved by their parents. Dr. Joanne Kurtzbergof DunkUniversity has treated over 20 young children to date with their own Umbilical cord blood stem cells.
The treatments I went through include physical rehab for six months at Roosevelt Warm Springs, GA; physical therapy in Phenix Cityfor three months, botulinum treatment at UAB in Birmingham, and cereal casting. I also had a heel cord and ham string release at age 5 and a half.
My name Neil Barron
Major psychology (A+) troy university student
earning Bachelors Degree Education goal Doctorate
Interest computer animation, computer graphic design
Visual commotion, drawing, painting with water colors
Philosophy, researching alternative and traditionalmedicine
I’m 28 years old and I have hope one day to be able to go to China for stem cell treatment. I don’t have the money, but I have influential friends in the community who are willing to collect donations for my case. To justifying asking for donations, they need support from a medical doctor. My family doctor does not trust Chinese medicine and research and he refused to support my effort
I want to stand, walk, and drive a car.
My goal to be able to care for my self if something should happen to my 83 years grandmother or my 63 year old friend and teacher who help us I would have no resources to maintain any from of independent life. When I told my doctor this,
Hesaid, “You never know when someone benevolent would come to help you”
He doesn’t get it, I don’t want to wait around, wait to be able to keep friendships,
to get a job and serve the earth as well asother people.
In short be someone benevolentand to create my owe opportunities + future
As it is CP. confines me!Please help me!,Please help me improve
my quality of life, and be who Iwas born to become!
Sincerely, Neil Barron
Neil E. Barron
2209 43rd
Phenix City, AL36870
(334) 297-1645
P.S. Additional Needed Infromation
Note can use a manual and power and wheelchairs
MyMedications My Conditions
Affixer irritable bowel syndrome
magic bullet suppository for bowel movement
baclofen spasticity
treat myself water shy bladder
and cranberry juice shy bladder
My MedicationsDosages, and Frequencies
affixer onecapsule take once a day with food 150 mg
baclofen 2 tablet twice a day 20mg
one magic bullet suppository every other day
taketwo over-the-counterstool softener capsules each night
take anEnemaonly if needed for bowel movement
known allergic reactions to medications “none”
Healthy immune system” blood- type O+”
No immune deficiency
Myheight or weight it has not been checked in a while
Weight 150lbs. to 190lbs.“not sure”
Height around 6 feet tall“not sure”
I am my owe legal guardian but I cannot get out and go places easily
so my grandmother
Hazel Willis is listed as legal guardian on
TheBeijingTiantanPuhuaHospital treatment applicationthat we send postal mail