CARMEN
First of all, I wanted to thank Carmen and her family for sharing their story with us. This is going to be our first testimony, our first smile of the project 37 smiles that although we cannot do right now our challenge to cycle for 37 weeks in Europe until the Spring of 2021, we are going to share some bits related to the campaign for hemiplegia in the childhood (subtype of cerebral palsy).
Carmen and her family live in Almansa, a town in Castilla La Mancha (Spain) surrounded by wine and good people!
Carmen decided to come into this world at 8 months of gestation, 1982. The incubator was her home during her first month of life. Time to go home with the doctor’s report in hand that said she had recovered satisfactorily after suffering from jaundice and pneumonia.
Six months later, her parents realized that Carmen’s motor development was not maturing as it should. The doctor’s first diagnosis, although it is not credible, was that Carmen was a very calm girl and that they had to give her more time to develop.
Months passed by and Carmen’s parents, not happy with the situation, decided to visit a private doctor to discover what was happening to Carmen. They did not achieve any satisfactory results, but the recommendation of the private doctor to visit other professionals put them in the right direction to reach their goal.
The perseverance of their parents through a significant number of professionals led them to the answer. Carmen had suffered a stroke. Before, during or after delivery (it is not known) what affected the motor skills of the whole body.
Good news: they already knew what was happening to their daughter Carmen. Bad news: the doctors assured them that she was not going to be able to walk in her life, to try it would be a waste of time.
As determined parents, they went out looking for professionals who could help them … and after visiting neurologists, therapists, physiotherapists, their parents’ constant daily work and a couple of operations on the ankle tendons. Carmen managed to take her first steps when she was almost 4 years old.
Currently she continues to do physical therapy exercises and receives injections of botulinum toxin every 3 months for the past 4 years. It is completely independent, it recovered very well the left part of the body but in the right part is where it has hemiplegia. However, she can do any housework, she loves swimming and she has a lot of friends with whom she spends a lovely time. Her parents have never felt social rejection, Carmen has always been included in all kinds of activities and events.
Her parents recognize that Carmen has taught them a lot in many ways.
From Munkoride we are looking for more smiles to add to our project. If you want to share your story, please contact us at munkoride@gmail.com
We hope that our little input will help to raise awareness of Hemiplegia in the childhood, at the same time as highlighting the importance of making their reality visible.
How can you help?
Ask, ask and ask what you want to know. Our email munkoride@gmail.com
Share our messages about the 37 smiles campaign to reach more people. We will be on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and website (MUNKORIDE).
Donation for the Hemiweb and CPotential associations (HERE). They do an amazing job working with children with Hemiplegia.
See you next time!