Taking my son to the Freddie Farmer Foundation Centre
For those of you who have been following this blog since its creation, you are well aware of why I had created The Ponds of Wonder story. For those of you who have just discovered this website and are reading this blog post for the very first time, I'm so glad that you chose to spend some of your valuable time to read this post, and hopefully others that I have published as well.
The children's adventure novel that I had published called The Ponds of Wonder was written to serve two purposes:
1. To provide an imaginative story for young readers to enjoy and hopefully stimulate their imagination and creativity.
2. The proceeds collected from the sale of digital copies would go entirely towards the physical and developmental needs of my son, Eric.
Eric was born with a very rare syndrome called Mowat Wilson Syndrome, to date there are approximately 300 known cases worldwide. You can read more about the challenges both he, my wife and I have faced, and are still facing to this day by clicking on this link: My Little Miracle Named Eric
The Freddie Farmer Foundation
A few months ago my wife and I had discovered an Independent Physiotherapy Centre in the UK called the Freddie Farmer Foundation who provide intensive physiotherapy programmes for disabled children aged 3-16. After sifting through their website to learn more about the services they offered my wife and I were convinced that this would be an investment worth taking for Eric's physical development. An email was sent and soon after, a two-week intensive physiotherapy booking was made for the tail end of last April. Airline tickets were purchased, accommodation and transportation booked and we flew off to the UK at the start of the school Easter holidays.
The Spider Therapy Room at the Freddie Farmer Foundation Centre
Upon our arrival at the centre we were welcomed warmly by the staff. A comfortable parents room was made available for our personal belongings and once settled, the start of Eric's physiotherapy support began in earnest. Eric immediately took to the physiotherapists he was assigned to and we could tell that he was enjoying the new challenges and exercises by the smiles on his face and when things got more challenging then he was accustomed to, his therapists Ms. Judith, Ms. Sonia and Mr. Sam, the Physio assistant, provided him with the encouragement and praise to help Eric strive to work harder. I don't think I have ever seen my little guy work so hard and by the end of each day's therapy sessions he was quite spent, needing a much needed nap to recharge his energy levels; but he took it all in stride.
He spent time in their LokoHelp to help him further develop his gait pattern. He also had spent time in a Therasuit in the Spider being supported only by a few bungees to help him develop confidence in his independent standing skills, which needed a boost due to his visual impairment. They also put him through a number of other exercises and stretches bent on helping him to develop and gain confidence when attempting to stand independently. It was all so positive.
My wife and I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone at the centre for a wonderful experience and for all of the help and advice they sent us home with so that we can continue providing Eric with all that we can to help him gain further independence and develop those skills that many of us take for granted.
I certainly hope you enjoyed reading through this article. If you would like to obtain a digital copy of The Ponds of Wonder for that special child in your life, or perhaps are interested in reading the story yourself, I would like to invite you to click on the link below. You will be supporting your child's imagination and creativity and helping mine with his physical development. Isn't it great how we can all come together as a community to help each other's children grow and develop!
Until the next post, Happy Reading everyone!
