Please help us to raise the funds necessary to bring her to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago for much needed physical and cognitive therapies. Alex is our extremely brave and strong little girl who has had a very tough start to life. We went to the hospital where she was delivered by emergency C-Section. It was evident straight away that something was wrong. Alex was rushed to ICU and put i
n a hypothermic state to try and prevent any brain damage but unfortunately, at some stage in the 24 hours before she was born, she suffered HIE (Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy), a type of brain damage that occurs when a baby’s brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen. After 8 days in ICU on a ventilator, an MRI was done which showed extensive brain damage. The doctors advised that there wasn’t much more they could do and it was agreed to turn off the ventilator. Thankfully, our incredible little girl fought to breathe on her own. She remained in ICU for 4 weeks before we got to bring her home. As a result of the brain damage, Alex is visually impaired and has Epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy. She is fed and medicated through a feeding tube and needs extensive physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy (for her feeding). Alex needs intensive rehabilitation. We have made 2 trips to the UK this year so far, to Snowdrop and Brainwave who specialise in supporting children with cognitive and physical disabilities. The changes we see in Alex since are amazing and give us so much hope. She has been accepted by the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago to undergo intensive rehabilitation therapy for 3 months with therapies 5 days a week. Our goals are to improve her core and head control, gain better use of her hands/arms and have a vision assessment. Children develop so quickly in their first few years and Alex needs all the help she can get. Without early intervention she won’t progress. Our little girl is an especially strong and very brave little fighter and we are determined to get her as much help as we possibly can so we can reach her potential. We are trying to raise as much as we can to get Alex the help she deserves. Our fundraising goal for the treatment visits this year is €50,000 and we hope to go beyond this to raise money for Alex’s future trips over the coming years. All money we raise goes into a Trust for Alex that is only accessible for her treatments. Please help us if you can, we are so very grateful for every bit of support. Thanks for reading our story,
Alex, Anne & James
