Conference puts the focus on Cerebral Palsy
The conference was held for the first time on the West Rand where 14 guest speakers had the chance to give more details regarding the disease.
Delegates from all over the country was welcomed by the West Rand Association for Persons with Disabilities (WRAPD) and the West Rand School, hosts of this year’s Annual Cerebral Palsy Conference.
The two-day conference was held for the first time on the West Rand at the Silverstar Conference Venue this past week where 14 guest speakers had the chance to speak to physiotherapists, speech therapists, audiologists and parents of people with cerebral palsy.
Annalene Rossouw, WRAPD Director said the guest speakers spoke about a different range of topicssuch as treatment, rights and the different life stages of people with cerebral palsy under the theme of Cerebral Palsy through the lifespan.
During the gala dinner Dr Martina van der Mescht spoke about her 20-year-old son Leonard, a sufferer, who was given a zero chance by doctors after it was established that he have the disease.
“He was born at 28 weeks due to a ruptured placenta. On the fourth day he developed massive bleeding on the left side of the brain, so much so that the doctors advised us to consider switching off the life support machines
Through hard work and determination on giving her son a second chance through working with doctors and conducting as much research as she can, her son is living a healthy normal life.
Cerebral Palsy, Rossouw said, is a condition that happens during or after pregnancy due to an injury in the brain. This in effect affects the mobility of a sufferer.
Van der Mescht said she will never forget the harsh and devestating words from the pediatrician when he advised them as parents to forget he was ever born or to place him in an institution for the remainder of his life.
“It was exactly at this point when I decided that I will invest in giving him a fair chance on life!”
Today he has enrolled for a degree in Marketin on a part-time basis and a photography course after passing a normal matric at a mainstream school and was offered employment at Action Ford since he has an absolute passion for cars and is in the process of obtaining his driver’s licence.
Steven Campbell, a sufferer living at the WRAPD provided the entertainment for the evening before everyone rounded off the evening with a delicious dinner and dessert while enjoying some good company.
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