SDR For Erin

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Erin and Dr. Park

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Hi my name is Erin & I am now 4 yrs old. I have Diplegia Cerebral palsy. Diplegia Cerebral Palsy can affect the four limbs but mine just affects my legs. My nerves in my spine are sending the wrong messages to my legs & brain to tighten up my muscles in my legs & cause me to have spasticity in my legs also. I was unable to stand or walk by myself & my future life on the NHS here in the UK was not very bright at all.

At Christmas 2009 my family followed a story about a little girl a little older than me but who had the same form of Cerebral Palsy embarking on a trip to the USA for a life changing operation.

This procedure is called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy SDR for short. As far as my family were aware this procedure was only available in the USA. It has also been perfected by a top Paediatric Neurosurgeon in the USA Dr T S Park who has not only carried out this procedure for over 20 years & over 2000 patients with outstanding results but who has also perfected the treatment so it benefits patients instantly. Sounds too good to be true?

What is SDR I hear you say?? SDR is a procedure where a small piece of my spin is removed between the 7th & 8th vertebra and the nerves are identified under that piece of spine that are sending the wrong messages to my leg muscles, which cause’s them to tighten & have abnormal amount of spasticity. Once these nerves have been identified they are separated from my other nerves & cut to stop the wrong messages getting through. The procedure can take between two & half hours & four hours depending on your age & after a stay of only 5 days in hospital you are discharged from the hospital but continue to have aftercare for three whole weeks after through intense physio.

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SDR FOR ERIN EVES-CAIRNS APPEAL

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With this procedure only available in the USA I firstly had to be assessed to see if I would be a perfect candidate for this procedure & once my wonderful family & dear friends found out I was they all embarked on huge fundraising events to try & raise the necessary funds for me to have this life changing operation that would give me the ability to walk & stand independently for the rest of my life. My quality of life would definitely change for the better and on Saturday the 25th September 2010 along with my mum & dad we flew to St Louis, Missouri for this procedure.

On Tuesday 28th of September I arrived at St Louis Children’s hospital at 5.30am in the morning for my SDR procedure. I was first on the list & very excited with the outcome. NEW LEGS. Our time flew by in St Louis & we returned home on Saturday 24th October.

I am progressing really well now & after sending Dvd’s of my progress to Dr Park they are all extremely pleased with my progress. I am coming on leaps & bounds now. My kay walker was replaced with canes & they have now been replaced with crutches. I am able to stand alone correcting myself when I feel I am going to fall. I am able to walk holding just one of my mummy & daddy’s hand either one, something I could not do before. We are all really pleased with my progress.

You can read all about my incredible journey through my Blog page that you can access from this page, just click on Erin’s Blog & we are now using my website to help others who are like me to gain the knowledge of the hope my family have been given through this procedure but if you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact my mum & dad through my email address sdr4erin@sky.com. My family are only too happy to help & pass on the hope they now have. You can also see through my web page see exactly what we did to raise the funds for my procedure. Fingers crossed this procedure will become available here in the UK in time.