BiographyCameron had a very difficult start to life, he got stuck by his shoulders and needed a mcroberts maneuver to deliver him safely. When he was born he needed to be resuscitated which took 3-4minutes.
When he started breathing he barely cried and his head was painfully bruised and swollen.
At 3 weeks old he was rushed to Hospital he had lost a dramatic amount of weight and was diagnosed with Hypotonia, also known as floppy baby syndrome, it is a state of low muscle tone (the amount of tension or resistance to stretch in a muscle), often involving reduced muscle strength.
He was incredibly weak and at one point the Doctor thought he may have Cerebral Palsy. Due to his symtoms they wanted to perform an MRI scan but he wouldn't stay still so they decided to put it off until a later date.
He was on specialist milk to build him up and was on various medication for his sickness and to ease his tummy.
At 10months he was discharged from the Paediatrician as he was making steady progress.
At 17months old Mum and I were still concerned about his development and the frequent sickness he was having. I got in touch with my Health Visitor and she agreed there was something not right.
He was assessed for 6 months by various health proffesionals i.e Speech Therapist, Play Specialist, Psychologist.
There was a big meeting and they all agreed Cameron was Severly Autistic. During the meeting I explained how I was pleased they reached a Diagnosis but I still felt there was something not right (call it mothers instinct).
They agreed to do an MRI scan to rule out anything else, As I was worried his birth may have caused a bleed on the brain.
A month later an MRI scan was performed.
I had a call the next day and was told it was urgent and I needed to come to see the Doctor to discuss what the scan had shown. That's when I recieved the devastating news that my little man had a Brain Tumour - they needed to do an operation as soon as possible to remove the Tumour and to take a Biopsy to find out how severe it was.
5 weeks later he had his 6 hour operation to remove the tumour but unfortunately it wasn't completely successful and they could only remove half the tumour as it was so close to the nerve endings due to it being in the Cerebellum. A week after surgery Cameron's head began to swell and he was in agony, his head was filling up with high volumes of CSF Fluid, he needed to be rushed down for an Emergency surgery to have the fluid drained and a VP Shunt fitted. Due to the nature of the brain surgery he had developed Acquired Hydrocephalus.
Once he began to heal and could hold his head up he needed to have intense physiotheraphy as surgery had caused him to loose his ability to walk.
He never complained and struggled through like a little Soldier.
He was discharged a month later and the recovery process was long. He was frequently sick and walking became a big struggle for him. He was then referred to the Wheel Chair clinic to have a have his wheelchair assesment and got a lovely wheelchair for him. He needs his chair for long distances.
The following year a routine MRI scan showed the tumour had grown back again.
He needed more surgery to remove it, thankfully this time it was a success and they removed all of the tumour.
A couple of weeks later again Cameron had a large mass of CSF fluid building up in the back of his head, So he needed more surgery this time to add a Catheter (Y Connector) onto the Shunt. There was so much extra fluid that the Shunt couldn't process it alone.
Due to Camerons brain surgeries he has been left with Ataxia (Brain Damage) to his Cerebellem. The part of the Brain that controls your movement and co-ordination. Walking is a struggle and he gets frequent tremors in his hands.
He is also under investigation for Epilepsy.
He spends alot of time in and out of Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn & Addenbrookes Cambridge.
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