Background

Meconian Aspiration Syndrome (MAS) occurs when a baby breathes in a mixture of a faecal substance called Meconium, a thick liquid from the baby’s intestines, and amniotic fluid. For Olivia this resulted in her heart stopping 45 minutes after birth and her brain being deprived of oxygen.

Olivia spent 8 weeks in intensive care and at 12 weeks old was formerly diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy which had resulted from her traumatic birth. Cerebral Palsy is a lifelong condition affecting motor and developmental skills, with symptoms including poor coordination, weak and stiff muscles, mobility and posture issues and tremors.

Treatment

Olivia attended NHS physio sessions up to the age of three but once she reached four, the level of support available to her came to an end so her parents, Barry and Jeni started to explore the availability of alternative facilities.

They found The Rehab Physio, which was conveniently located on the Wirral where they live and decided to look into some of the intensive techniques for neurological conditions on offer. Olivia was one of The Rehab Physio’s very first patients, starting her treatment at our previous facility when she was just four years old.

Olivia accesses our gym equipment during her strength and conditioning training which consists of weights, circuit sessions, and resistance work. She also uses our specialist robotic technology, which aims to target upper and lower limb strength and challenges cognitive ability.

Our Physiotherapy Assistant, Liam has been extensively involved in Olivia’s care:

“Liv is an absolute pleasure to be around. She faces everything life throws at her with a bundle of energy, humility, and a fair bit of sass!  Liv enjoys strength training and it’s great to see her reaping the rewards of all her hard work.  Liv continues to go from strength to strength and is a complete credit to herself and her Mum, Jeni.”

As a result of her treatment, Olivia is able to use a walker to get around and because of her core strength work, is able to pursue her love of horse riding with the gorgeous Hugo!

Her mum Jeni comments:

“For Cerebral Palsy patients, the importance of maintaining muscle tone, posture and strength, particularly good core strength, is not to be underestimated. As well as allowing Olivia to follow her passion for horse riding, it also means that she is able to do simple, everyday activities, like transferring to a seat in a restaurant, sitting on a sofa at home to watch a film and going on holiday without the need for specialist equipment, such as a hoist.

Attending weekly physio sessions at The Rehab Physio has made a massive contribution to Olivia’s quality of life. She’s grown up with the team during the last 10 years so she really feels like part of the family.

The Future…

Olivia is currently thriving at her local high school and is looking forward to going to a further education college once she’s completed her GCSEs, possibly to study photography.

A final word from our Founder, Jen:

“Our approach with Cerebral Palsy is to firstly help parents to better understand the condition itself and the likely physical effects as the child grows. A treatment plan has to be designed around the patient’s condition, physical ability and personality to make sure that we fully engage them in their therapy so that they get the most from every session.  Liv is a fantastic patient to work with and I look forward to seeing the exceptional future she builds for herself.”