Please help Just4Children to raise money for Alfred to have intensive treatment to give him the best chance of moving independently one day.
Alfred is 6 years old from Swadlincote, Derbyshire and suffered a brain injury at birth in 2015. He was born lifeless and took 9 minutes to resuscitate, at which point he was put on a ventilator. His brain had been starved of oxygen which caused brain damage in several areas. Just before Alfred was 1 years old he was diagnosed with Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy and more recently epilepsy. This means that the damage effects all parts of his body, physically. Cognitively Alfred is just like most other 6 year olds and he is doing so well at a mainstream school learning the same curriculum as his peers (with allowances for physical boundaries). Alfred is currently totally physically dependant and require help with all areas of daily life.
Over the last 6 years Alfred has completed 11 intensive treatment blocks in the UK and recently his 12th intensive was in Boston, America. The centre in the USA is called THE NAPA CENTRE and it has been truly life changing to see how much of a difference 3 weeks there can make. The centre is like nothing on offer in the UK (yet!). Alfred completed 4 hours a day of intensive therapy for 3 weeks and he got so much stronger and so much closer to some BIG milestones. The treatment in the USA isn’t cheap and cost over £12,000 but every penny was worth it. Alfred is now very close to being able to get himself into a kneeling position from being flat on the floor. We have been lucky enough to get another place at NAPA in May 2022 and are desperate to raise enough money to go.
Alfred will tell us daily how much he wants to move around like most people and he has the drive and determination to do so with the right tools. He is an absolute fighter, which we saw within the first 12 hours of his birth, when he pulled his ventilator out himself and began breathing on his own. He was the first 4 year old with cerebral palsy in our local area to have a speedy powered wheelchair and able to drive it competently.
Alfred dreams of having a dog of his own one day and walking it daily, running around the playground with his friends and having a more independent life not relying on his parents. We would do anything to get him closer and closer to his dreams and keep progressing. He’s come so far already and we love nothing more than when senior doctors see him as an absolute marvel. He really is a marvel and works so hard everyday.
