Our Families

Team Van Gestel

Description

As people we aspire to do great things in life, some people achieve more than they can ever imagine possible. We admire these people because of great achievements, whether it is because they are famous, or they are an athlete or they have overcome immense hardship. These people are our heroes and we look up to them.

We would like to tell you a story about our hero, his name is Shuyler. Our little boy is now 6 years old and doing Prep this year. Despite Shuyler having a disability, he is able to manage well and participate in the same activities as his peers. For me, my biggest thrill yet was seeing Shuyler participate in the school cross country. The race was a total distance of 500 metres, while the preppies lined up for the race I was thinking to myself as long as he doesn’t come last. As the race progressed and all of the kids finished ahead of Shuyler my heart sank. The race was long over and little Shuyler was running and walking still trying to finish. As he headed towards the finish line some of the parents started to yell out go Shuyler. My heart lifted as he kept running and got all the way to the finish line. When I met him after the race his face was gleaming with pride and he asked me “mummy were they all cheering for me because I am a champion”. I then realised that yes, he is a champion just for being able to do that distance alone was a huge achievement for Shuyler and that coming last was not the issue. As parents we all want the best for our children, but when you have a child with a disability they are limited, the most simplest of tasks can prove quite difficult. When they come close to achieving the same things as other kids you feel a strong sense of pride and like they have won the race every time!

Shuyler was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (CP) when he was a baby. CP causes the muscles in the body to be too tight. Shuyler’s muscles on the right side of his body are too tight, which restricts his movement and makes every day tasks quite a challenge.

We take for granted that our children will eventually walk, run, talk, play and interact on a normal level. A child with CP has to have constant intervention and therapy just to be able to achieve the simple tasks in life.

Shuyler didn’t start walking until he was two. We have overcome some of his difficulties by doing regular therapy. We have accessed a large number of services to gain assistance for Shuyler. They include Dieticians, Speech Therapy, Ophthalmologist, Physiotherapist, Behavioural Optometrist, Occupational Therapy, NDTP, Chiropractor, Botox, Hydrotherapy, Paediatricians and a Behavioural Psychologist.

Shuyler has undergone three lots of botox therapy which requires him to have needles into the muscles in his leg. Wearing an orthotic also helps Shuyler to have a more even gait, as he has difficulty walking and feels unbalanced. Shuyler has undergone three operations on his eyes to try to straighten them. The eye muscle surgery was needed as his eyes were severely crossed and if not corrected could lead to serious problems with his sight.

Our ability to raise funds to pay for these costs has meant continual progress for Shuyler. He will need to continue with all of these therapies until he is an adult in order to make amazing gains.

The positive in all of this is we are able to raise funds on Shuyler’s behalf to cover some of these costs. The generous help from family and friends in previous years has been overwhelming. The Developing Foundation allows us to raise these funds and participate in an annual riverwalk to raise awareness about this charity. Some charities absorb a lot of donations given to help run the charity. This is not the case with this charity and any money we raise goes directly to helping Shuyler. Thanks for your support.

How you can help me to reach my dreams

•Donate

•Send this page to your family and friends asking them to donate

•Volunteer your time to help my family with respite, chores or day to day tasks

For more information on helping or if you have a question for my family please email info@developingfoundation.org.au