A storm brewing in a tea cup
 |
| Me and my boo at Nkrumah Ward 37 Hospital |
Came home and the little man was just not feeling great, had to rush him to 37 hospital in the traffic! That day, the traffic was exceptional because the tunnel was closed. Those in Ghana will remember it well, the whole of Accra was at a hault and people were stuck in traffic for a minimu of three hours. Hmm anyway and so we 'rushed' to the hospital and for some crazy inexplicable reason, people decided to block us hmm: the people that blocked me that day as we beeped through the traffic, I've prayed for them and forgiven them for their selfish ways.
So, we've been falling sick, been admitted twice to 37 Hospital in two weeks and been sick again because of another poor baby that had a serious flu in the ward. But we are back home. :) And it's World CP Day already. :) It's an emotional day and I don't even know what to write because I really do feel like a storm in a tea cup.
And of course it's been tough, because much of my family has travelled so I've had to skip work and stuff to care for my darling. But hey, thats life and that's motherhood isn't it? Well not really, God's plan for us isn't for our babies to get sick but when it does happen we deal.
So it's World CP Day and you would wonder why we celebrate it? Well to raise awareness on the condition. A friend "Maame Yaa" who also has child with CP raised an important point in her recent blog post. How much do people actually know about this condition? Well not much at all. You can follow this link to see how you can also help raise awareness on World CP Day which is tomorrow. https://worldcpday.org/tools/
Every child with CP is totally unique even if they have the same type of CP it would depend where they had the brain injury. People are always trying to play doctor or therapist around us yet they have not read anything about the condition. This breaks my heart and frustrates me, I don't mind explaining the condition but to be honest if you don't read you would know nothing about it and my explanation would also mean nothing.
In Ghana, we lack data on the number of people living with CP. Government talks about inclusion policies in schools yet there are schools who have a bunch of children with different conditions put in one school. I don't want Giovanni to be secluded or put in a school where many children have also been secluded. I know it's a controversial thing, but we can start somewhere to reduce the stigma on our children. Anyway aside this very controversial topic on inclusion, CP usually comes with other complications: epilepsy, autism, ADHD, poor eye sight if not blindness, to mention but a few. Just so many things. I endeavour the public to read more about Cerebral Palsy and the associated conditions. Before Giovanni was diagnosed I also didn't know much but I learned and that's how we have come this far. :)
There's still a lot of work to be done and people like Hanna (also a mother who's child has CP) are doing a lot of background work to raise awareness and change the system . I'm proud of people like that. There's so much work to be done, beacuse of stigma people are killing their children with this condition and giving them herbs because somebody in the village somewhere recommended it. You would be surprised that some of the people recommending herbs are sometimes highly educated. One mother used herbs on her child and regretted it because her child started having seizures. People get desperate and try all sorts of things herbs, prayer camps etc. But what we really need to do is embrace your child's condition and then do something about, help your child receive the necessary therapy so he/she can live to their fullest potential no matter what the limitations of the condtion there is way to life. Learn how to give physiotherapy yourself if you can't afford. I recently attended a workshop on therapy organised by Special Mothers Project and MultiKids Academy and it was great and freeeeee. lol.
I don't want people to throw pity parties, I want people to understand that God has a purpose for every human being and a purpose for every situation. And I take this as a blessing, of course when he gets sick I get sad and worried but I'm grateful for Giovanni because he has shown me a lot. These kids are real special. He has shown me how to love with a big big heart, to be patient and most of all to brush my shoulders off and not think about the petty things as others would do. The downside is maybe I don't have time for petty people lol so I tend to be very raw sometimes, but I'll eventually work on that. ahaha. not really.
Cerebral Palsy has made me discover a whole new world and network of amazing parents and caregivers and a new way of thinking about life and making oneself happy and not sympathetic. People I don't know reach out to us and share their stories, people whom i've never met support me and show their love in different ways. It's a journey but hey, we are on it and taking one step at a time. :) Hanna's organisation is doing so much in terms od raising awareness on cerebral palsy, please check her page out http://specialmothersproject.blogspot.com.
This might be the most boring and non dramatic post I've ever written but more to come. lol. More to come...
Comments
Post a Comment