Cerebral Palsy (CP)

Parks Anderson at 3 weeks old taken by Kim Libby

I'm sure a lot of people will have questions when they see Parks in a cast so hopefully this will clear things up.
Even though we've lived in South Weber since Parks was born there are still many people that don't know Parks has CP. Luckily he has a mild case so it isn't noticeable unless you've seen him try to use his fine motor skills with his left hand. And if you watch carefully you might notice a slight limp. Most people don't understand what CP is. It happens when the brain suffers from a lack of oxygen (like a stroke) and leaves a scar on the brain. Parks suffered a stroke inutero. The doctors and I have no idea why. Usually it occurs when you have a serious accident while pregnant, a long difficult delivery, or if you go into early labor. I had none of the above. Parks was actually 9 days overdue and I got started because I didn't want to be in the hospital over Easter (which I regret) because I like surprises. It was a smooth delivery. I checked in at 5pm and had him by 10pm. At 9 months we noticed he couldn't "patty-cake". He was misdiagnosed the first time, with nerve damage in his shoulder that could be fixed with therapy, but I pointed out to his occupational therapist (OT) that I believed it affected his leg as well and she sent us for an MRI and that is when they found that he had suffered from a stroke. We were afraid he wouldn't be able to walk but he did at 22 months.
CP does not affect the fuction of the brain mentally. Parks is as smart as any 5 year old. In Parks case it only affects the muscles on his left side. Some kids are affected in all 4 limbs. Depending on the size and location of the scar depends on the severity of CP they have. Parks has "spasticity" which means increased muscle tone, or stiff muscles. Some sensory nerves send the wrong message to the brain. The brain does not get the message to tell the muscle to relax.

Parks' therapists have always loved his pleasant attitude. He has always been a happy boy and very willing to do anything. They are amazed at how active he is and how well he plays sports etc. So having a sports fanactic for a father is a good thing in this case. His therapists say their own kids aren't as active as Parks and I've seen many kids without CP who can't swing a baseball bat, catch a football or shoot a basketball as well as Parks can. :) At the after school dodgeball intramurals, Parks would often catch balls (with one arm) thrown at him by 5th grade boys and get them out. The highlight of his day!
CP is not curable. We take him to therapy to get ideas of how to stretch him and keep his muscles active so they won't shorten or lose more movement over time. Because those muscles aren't used like his other side, his left arm and leg are skinnier and a little shorter.
I have never taken any pictures of Parks in therapy over the past 5 years, which I regret so I took my camra to document him getting his cast on. His physical therapist (PT) Julie, said she didn't get any pics of her son having his tonsils out and regrets it so I'm glad I remembered my camra.
Last Friday Parks made his 8th trip down to Primary Children's. This was his 3rd time to get Botox shots in his left arm and leg. Botox (as a lot of women might know) is used to relax your muscles. So in Parks case Botox helps relax his tight muscles in his arm and leg so he can get a better stretch during therapy and use his muscles easier to hopefully develop knew paths to his brain. But it is only a temporary, lasting about 4 months. So we do extra therapy and really stretch him well during this time. Parks' PT said his heel cord was so tight that she wanted to "serial cast" him. She stretches his foot (toe towards his shin) as far as it will go and casts it. Then every week we go back and she stretches it a few more degrees and casts it again to help elongate the muscle. Hopefully he will only have to do that 3 times and will be out of his cast just after Christmas break. And I have to add, he didn't even cry or need to be held down. He had 4 shots and they are pretty painful. Even Dr. Gooch and the nurse commented how wonderful it is to have someone like Parks who is cooperative. He has been their best patient in a very long time. Just that day they had a teenage girl who was out of control.
Julie told Parks to come up with an interesting story to tell people of how he broke his leg. He has a few. So if you ask him don't think he doesn't know the real reason he is wearing it, it just makes being in a cast a little bit more fun for him.

No, Parks is not happy to have a cast on. He says there are a lot of things he can't do with that dumb thing on, like run. But would you know it, he was running all over at his basketball game just a few hours after getting it on last night! Nothing really stops him. He'll have to have a sponge bath till it's off and I advised him not to go to recess (which makes him the saddest), but I'm afraid of him slipping on the ice or getting it wet. Yet he has a good attitude and is always smiling. I love my Skrapper!

Today he has show and tell and he is going to show his cast and let his friends sign it. Here is Parks signing his own cast right after getting home. The rest of the family had their turn also.

Here is a picture of his DAFO (leg brace) he is suppose to wear daily but I feel bad for him and don't make him wear it all the time, which is suppose to help him walk flat footed. I also have to buy 2 pair of the same shoe in different sizes in order for him to be able to wear his DAFO. Also a picture of his night splint that he should wear to bed to stretch his heel cord. Not comfortable obviously and he usually wakes up in the night with cramps and takes it off. We've had to get him fitted for several of these as he grows and they look really cheap, just plastic and velcro but they are expensive! And yes he does get to pick the color and design on the strap and for some reason he always ends up with yellow, which is not his favorite color. Next time I'll try to convince him to pick a dark blue which wouldn't be so eye blinding. ha ha

Simple things that we take for granted like walking heel-toe, supination (turning your palm face up) and picking something up between your thumb and forefinger are impossible for Parks to do on his left side. While using his right arm or hand while concentrating on something like writing or running causes his left hand and arm to contract. That is why his left arm is usually bent at the elbow. His left torso muscles are also affected which causes him to not have as great of balance as he should. Therefore he doesn't enjoy swinging on a swing or rides at Lagoon.

While we were at Primary's, Dr. Gooch talked to us about Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR). (I feel like I'm back at IRS with all this abbreviated lingo!) It is a surgery that involves snipping nerves on the spinal cord that are sending the wrong signal to the brain. And another procedure to help his arm. I was in tears because I didn't think anything like this was possible and expected him to wear a DAFO for the rest of his life. We have to wait until the Botox wears off (in April) and we'll meet with several experienced PT's at Primary's who will evaluate him. He will then be evaluated at Shriners to see if he would be a good candidate for this surgery. I am getting my hopes up over something that may not happen, but I can't help but to pray that it will work for Parks. I want him to gain more use of his arm more than anything. I have researched SDR on line and there are parents whose children have had the surgery and are willing to share their stories. It is sooo exciting!
Parks' having this trial has made me appreciate everything just a little bit more. Never take anything for granted and be thankful for what you can do because it could be worse. And I know as well as Parks knows that he will be made perfect in heaven!

P.S. Parks went to recess today, he stayed on the pavement and played tether ball with Cade, Milan and Jonah. Yah! his cousin now goes to his school. See there is nothing that can stop this kid. Now if only we could find a snow boot to fit over his cast, he really wants to play in the snow.