Elijah W's quilt    (Quilt Completed)

Thank you

Thank you so much to everyone who helped make Elijah's quilt, he absolutely loves it and we now finally have the perfect size blanket for his bed that he's approved of! Sorry for the delay he's not been himself but this certainly pit a smile on his face! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts xx

Finished photos

Individual squares

Card

Stitched by: Heather Jepson

Biography

Elijah was born 10 days late. He was a quiet baby who didn't really seek any attention, but as he went into toddler years I realised he was struggling a lot with communication, people, eye contact etc, although he still had a cheeky smile.

Elijah struggled along in nursery and primary 1-2 with everyone denying anything was wrong with him. In primary 2 Elijah became so withdrawn, he wouldn't engage with anyone in school and would hide in his bedroom. It became so severe that he stopped talking in February 2018 and has never said a word since. We had a big meeting which suggested Elijah should not return to school for the foreseeable - that was in May 2018. He has since not returned to school despite many efforts.

Elijah had an amazing Dr who worked so hard to find out what was going on with him. Elijah's autism became more apparent as he became sicker. In November 2018 Elijah started to collapse and not be able to move his body. These episodes lasted hours before he could move again. His Dr was off sick for quite some time but when she returned she helped once again work out what was happening and Elijah was diagnosed with Catatonia in autism.

In February 2019 Elijah's shutdowns as we called them were lasting days and he was losing all abilities, the biggest one was the ability to eat. He started to be Ng fed then so he didn't become physically sick. We were up against a lot of professionals who still denied anything wrong with him despite his diagnosis and his Dr telling them. It was agreed he'd go to Glasgow to be an inpatient in a place which deals with mental health. Elijah had to have a short stay in another hospital before this where they sectioned him under the Mental Health act at age 7.

He was stuck in a hospital for 1 month to prove he did have these diagnoses. Unfortunately since then Elijah still experiences catatonic shutdowns every week, which makes his body like a new born. He has never regained eating orally, still hasn't spoken a word and has to use the wheelchair all the time. He is a funny smart little boy.