Help us care for severely disabled son (From Warrington Guardian)

Help us care for severely disabled son

11:50am Sunday 26th February 2012 in News By Matthew Hobbs

By MATTHEW HOBBS A LATCHFORD family need help to support their three-year-old son who cannot walk or talk because of a rare genetic disorder.

Cameron Smith, of Banks Crescent, was born with agenesis of the corpus callosum, a defect that means part of his brain is missing.

Mum Sarah has never heard her son speak, and she does not know if he will ever speak or walk.

She said: “We have no idea if he will improve.

“He may start talking and walking in the next 10 years. He may not.

“We just have to provide him with everything he needs and hope that it gets better.”

Sarah first knew something was wrong two weeks after Cameron’s birth in 2008.

The 33-year-old said: “He wasn’t asking for food.

“He went back into hospital for an MRI scan and was diagnosed. It was a huge shock.”

The toddler was also diagnosed with global development delay, a learning disability that affects around three per cent of people in the UK.

Such was the impact on the family Sarah ended up on anti-depressants. Then last year Cameron was found to have epilepsy.

He responds to having a fit by holding his breath.

It means that Sarah carries an oxygen mask with her to help him breathe.

He also receives oxygen through the night. “He needs a considerable blast to get him going again,” said the mum-of-three.

“Sometimes people come over because his face has gone blue, and we say don’t worry it happens all of the time.”

Then last month dad Alan, aged 35, lost his job as a transport manager.

With Sarah a full time carer to Cameron, and mum to nine-year-old Jessica and six-year-old Hannah, the family need help.

Cameron has a wheelchair funded by the NHS, but needs money for specialist equipment including a hoist to help him move and communication aids.

Sarah added: “We need to do whatever we can for him.

“There are days when you think this is it – it’s going to be this way for a long time.

“But we talk to him like we do our other children and hope he understands “He is aware of us and will smile.

“He seems to enjoy life which I find uplifting after everything he has been through.”

To help, email mssarahsmith34 @googlemail.com.