Isaac the Fighter!

Hi everyone! My name is Isaac, I am 6 years old and I need therapy on a weekly basis, although I can’t communicate, here is my story…

 
At the age of 8 months old, Doctors diagnosed me with Infantile Spasms which is a rare form of Severe Mentally Retarding Epilepsy. I was suffering 60 to 100 seizures throughout the entire day and continued while I slept. I endured a whole year of invasive testing to determine the cause of this Epilepsy and it was determined to be Cortical Dysplasia.

 

At the age of 18 months, my Doctors at Sydney Children's Hospital decided to operate on my brain to remove my Right Temporal Lobe and Adjacent brain tissue from the right side of my brain in hope to stop the seizures. I was seizure free for two weeks only, that’s when my Doctors found out that I have abnormal brain fluid absorption causing high brain pressure, this condition is called Hydrocephalus and it was an unfortunate complication of the surgery.

 
I was hospitalized for months until an adequate drainage system was inserted into my head to normalize the brain pressure. This drainage system is called a Shunt.

 
Six months after my surgery I was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism. I am Non Verbal, and I have extremely limited social skills. 

 
While remaining seizure free for two years, I was receiving Intense Behavioral Therapy for my Autism. Only with this intensive therapy I started to make gains and began to achieve a daily task of toilet training. I was then able to start preschool and began to have limited form of functional communication which was a significant step forward for me. 

 
Unfortunately, late 2017 the seizures returned! I was experiencing more than 10 seizures per day and after more testing it was revealed these seizures were a different type to previous infancy ones. I was at high risk of falls and injury and my skills began to regress. 

 
My Doctors at The Children's Hospital decided that since I was not responding to medical treatments the only option for me to control the seizures was brain surgery again. 

 
Hemispherectomy surgery, had my right side of the brain removed and disconnected from the left side of the brain. Again with such  surgery came side effects. 

 
I am in a wheelchair now with no movement on the left side of my body but with daily Occupational Therapy I am starting to gain awareness of my left side of my body and can make some steps with being supported. I still don’t have movement in my left arm. I am getting Behavioural Therapy as well to address my Autism.

 
With your help I will be able to maintain my daily therapy hoping that one day I can enjoy life more fully!

 
Thank you all for your support…

Love Isaac

The funds raised will be used to pay off some of my therapy invoices!  The money will be transferred directly to the LIZARD CENTRE where I get treatment. No one benefits from the funds raised and every cent is paid for my ongoing therapy. The latter mentioned is verifiable with invoices and bank statements.