Henry Ford

My son Henry attends the Megan Baker House every Thursday; he really enjoys himself during these sessions and looks forward to coming every week. Henry is six years old and has Cerebral Palsy, Nystagmus and a Cortical Vision Impairment.

In March 2009 he had an operation on his spine called a Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy, this was to help reduce the spacicty in Henrys lower limbs. The operation went well and we were all really pleased with the results especially Henry who enjoys the new range of movement he now has in his 'new legs' as he calls them.

Our aim now is help Henry build up the muscles in his legs so he can support himself and learn how to balance which will hopefully lead to him walking unaided in the future.

Henry first attended a block placement at The Megan Baker House in April of this year for 4 days. I was really anxious how he would cope as it was during his school holidays and I thought Henry would get upset and very tired.

I needn't have worried because Henry loved it, he really enjoyed coming and looked forward to the next day. His conductors had a very special way with him and he was very keen to please them. This was also the first time that Henry had spent a lot of time with other children his age with needs similar to him, he was very shy to start with but gradually gained confidence though out the week. Henry responded really well to the achievement sheets and was very proud of his end of block certificate he was given at the end of the week. It has stayed on his bedroom wall ever since. I personally couldn't believe it when Judit walked Henry out at the end of the last session using one point sticks (with support) the concentration on his face and the sheer determination completely blew me away, I couldn't wait to tell everyone back home how well he was doing.

Henry's second placement was for three weeks in the Summer Holidays, Henry was really looking forward to coming back and as the time got nearer used to wake up every day and ask if today was the day we were going back to the Megan Baker House. During this visit we stayed one day to observe Henry and both my Mum and I were both amazed at what we saw. We didn't realise how much Henry was encouraged to do himself and we loved the way they worked to music, the group singing about what they were doing seemed a lovely way of encouraging the children to all work together. I think it has really helped Henry seeing the other children and watching how they move, I think it makes him more determined to do the things that they can do himself. We were also really impressed with how during part of the programme the conductors specifically teach the children walking skills, Henry was gaining confidence using his quadropods and now was starting to feel comfortable learning to walk on one point sticks, we were so pleased with his progress.

When I told Henry's Dad and the rest of the family how well things were going and how impressed we were with the session that we watched we decided to ask the centre whether they would consider Henry for weekly sessions. To our delight they offered Henry a place every Thursday. It meant a five hour long return trip in the car (as we live in Midsomer Norton near Bath), for four hours of sessions but we consider it time well spent. Henry really enjoys attending the centre, every week he looks forward to coming and is eager to show us the new things he is learning.

Henrys balance and strength are improving all the time and he now owns his very own pair of blue single point sticks and he is keen to show everyone how well he can walk with them (with minimal support). He is really coming on in leaps and bounds and we as a family feel so lucky that we have been given this chance for extra sessions from the staff at the Megan Baker House. You are all really helping us on our quest to get our little boy up and walking one day, thank you all so much for your kindness and support through everything.

Henry's Mum and Dad  

 Henry has his own website too, take a look here;  http://www.henryfordtrust.co.uk/