THE mother of a three-year-old boy who has successfully undergone a pioneering operation in America has thanked Observer readers for their messages of support.
Taliesin Campbell, who has cerebral palsy, could potentially walk unaided after the three-hour procedure in St Louis Children’s Hospital, Missouri.
The Miskin youngster, known as Tal, has needed a support frame to get about.
He was only able to make the trip after his parents Claire and Jon, along with their family and friends, frantically raised funds for six months in the hope of reaching the £40,000 target needed for the operation.
After reaching their goal last month, Tal, his parents, paternal grandparents and younger brother Gethin, flew out to the Saint Louis Children’s Hospital just over a week ago for the procedure, known as a Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR).
Under the care of Dr Park, Tal underwent his operation last Tuesday. Before Christmas, Dr Park had treated another South Wales child, Evan Hansen, who is now making good progress.
In an email from America, Tal’s mum Claire said: “Tal’s been transferred to intensive care. His pain is under control and he remains asleep and in intensive care for 24 hours.
“We would like to say a big thank-you to all the readers who supported Tal. We have really been overwhelmed by all the cards and messages of support. We are compiling a scrapbook of all these cards and letters so that when he is older, he can understand how many people cared and wanted to help him.”
Tal has been having regular physiotherapy at Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre in Whitchurch, Cardiff. But now his parents hope the operation will help him walk unaided.
SDR surgery involves testing the nerves along the spine and cutting the ones that are causing spasticity in the muscles.
Claire and Jon named their appeal the Taliesin Campbell Good Feet Fund after their son described the frustration of coping with legs that might be “good” and “naughty” on any particular day. They set up a website detailing Tal’s condition and what they hoped to achieve, as well as a Facebook page where they have received messages of support.
After the operation, Jon wrote on the talsgoodfeet.org website: “Writing this from the paediatric intensive care (PICU) ward where Tal is recovering well.
“Tal was taken to theatre a little after 7am and we were given hourly updates on his progress. If we left our private room for a quick leg-stretch, we were given our own pager so we could be easily found if we missed an update.
“A little after 10am, I was shocked when Dr Park himself came into our room to let us know the operation had gone very well and he was very happy. Then 30 minutes later, we were allowed into recovery to escort Tal up to the PICU.
“He’s mostly been sleeping due to a lovely cocktail of Fentanyl and Valium. When he wakes he’s grumpy and in pain, but brave and tough enough to enjoy a few episodes of Fireman Sam and a couple of runs of Disney Cars.
“So likely gonna be a rough night but he’ll improve over the next few days. Thanks to everyone for their support through the website, Twitter and Facebook. It’s meant a lot.”
The grateful family have updated the website almost daily with Tal’s progress, and just yesterday it was clear to see just how far he’s come.
Jon wrote: “Getting into our routine now. Tal has physio most days at 11am at the hospital.
“Gethin has been having a fantastic time with Grandma and Grandad but is clearly missing his mum and dad so we decided to mix things up a bit. Today Mum and Grandma took Tal to his physio session whilst Grandad and Dad took Gethin to the local park.
“I hear Tal was as fantastic as always, putting his all into everything – up on his walking frame today and had a little go on a bike.
“This afternoon the plan was for a trip to the zoo or the mall but Tal decided he wanted to stay home with Daddy and do more exercises.
“He is amazingly determined and was busy up on his feet for about two hours.”
Tal now faces ongoing physiotherapy while out in the US, which will continue when he is back home next month.
source: walesonline.co.uk
Cerebral Palsy Claims
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