Cerebral Palsy

October 6 is World CP Day

Wednesday, October 6, 2021 By Susanne Raab

October 6 is World Cerebral Palsy Day. This day represents a movement by people with cerebral palsy (CP), their families, and organizations that support them to create awareness and action around the disorder.

Cerebral palsy is a movement disorder which affects more than 17 million people across the world and about 10,000 people here in British Columbia. It is the most common physical disability in childhood. While cerebral palsy varies in its severity, it is a permanent disorder with no known cure.

On October 6, many BC landmarks, including Canada Place and Science World, will light up green to promote CP awareness. As common as CP is, many people with CP and their families lack access to basic information and support for condition. World CP Day is an opportunity to celebrate, raise awareness and take action to ensure that people with CP have the same rights, access and opportunity as anyone else in their communities.

As stated by Peter Brown of the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC (CPABC):

“Cerebral Palsy [CP] Day is an excellent opportunity for those of us with CP to educate the rest of the world, particularly our own communities, with respect to this affliction and the tremendous potential and ability that we all have, despite our condition. As with any such condition, there is tremendous uncertainty, almost mystery, for those who do not have, or do not know someone with, CP, as to what CP is and is not and the potential for great contributions to our world by those of us who do have CP… For me, it is a day during which those of [us] with CP should take the opportunity to provide the knowledge, information and expertise that we have gathered throughout our lives… to educate and inform our communities on… how far we have come and what challenges remain and which need to change, in order to benefit not only persons with CP but society as a whole.”

Visit the CPABC website to see how you can get involved with World CP Day on October 6.

At Pacific Medical Law, we are committed to bringing awareness to and supporting individuals with cerebral palsy. If you believe that your child’s cerebral palsy was caused by medical negligence, call us for a free consultation – we can provide information about supports and resources in your community as well as legal advice regarding your child’s rights for financial compensation.

Sailing to New Heights

Friday, September 18, 2020 By Admin

This November, Natasha Lambert will be embarking on her biggest challenge yet – sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.

Natasha’s love of sailing was immediate. It started on a lake in England when she was nine years old and only grew stronger as she got involved with a local sailing academy back home on the Isle of Wight. However, because Natasha was born with athetoid cerebral palsy and is unable to use her hands, she could not sail the boats herself. Nevertheless, she was determined to find a way to sail independently.

In 2009, Natasha’s parents gave her a life-changing gift – a converted model yacht which allowed her full control using her mouth and a ‘sip and puff’ system – assistive technology that uses air pressure to send signals to a device through the user by inhaling (sipping) or exhaling (puffing) through a straw in the user’s mouth. The sip and puff system works by using one short sip of breath to move starboard (right), quick puffs to turn port (left) and a click of the tongue to control the sails. This system is described as “life-changing” by her mother.

This got Natasha thinking – if she was able to control a model boat, why not a real one?

The following year, Natasha’s family bought a real sailboat and her father Gary spent the next 6 months installing and testing a sip and puff system that he had designed himself in order for Natasha to have full control of the yacht. Their hope is to one day have this same system commercially manufactured to enable others with disabilities to sail.

Since then, Natasha has led many sailing trips which have raised money for charity, including for the charity she helped create, The MissIsle School. This charity provides affordable sailing tuition to young people with physical disabilities who would benefit from the sip and puff method of sailing. She was even awarded the British Empire Medal in 2015 as recognition of her fundraising achievements.

This past July, now 23-year-old Natasha set sail from Cowes, Isle of Wight, to Gibraltar to begin the first leg of her transatlantic voyage on her newly adapted boat, Blown Away, in the hopes of raising £30,000 (approximately $50,000 Canadian) for charity. Although COVID-19 restrictions initially presented as a challenge, the rest of her incredible journey is still scheduled to begin in November.

Natasha’s journey, like those we have celebrated in our previous blogs, highlights the amazing potential of children living with disabilities when provided with sufficient support and adaptive equipment to reach their true potential. At Pacific Medical Law, it is our mission to help children living with cerebral palsy achieve their full potential by providing them with fair compensation for their disability when it was caused or contributed to through medical negligence. We are here to help. Call us for a free consultation – we can provide information about supports and resources in your community as well as legal advice regarding your child’s rights for financial compensation.

No place like home? Thinking twice about midwife-assisted planned home births

Thursday, September 10, 2020 By Arash Adjudani

Over the past two decades, the number of out-of-hospital births has been on the rise in British Columbia. This includes home births, which can be performed by registered midwives or appropriately trained physicians.

But are home births safe? It depends.

A recent US study investigated this question. By analyzing the rates of neonatal mortality in births attended by certified nurse-midwives, the study found that home births had significantly higher rates of neonatal mortality, even for mothers with a low risk profile. These results are not surprising; when unexpected complications occur during labour, hospitals are much better equipped in providing immediate and life-saving intervention for both mother and fetus.

In Canada, birth statistics suggest that hospital births are far safer than non-hospital births. In 2018, for example, non-hospital births were 4.5 times more likely to result in fetal death compared to hospital births. These numbers, however, do not distinguish between high-risk and low-risk pregnancies. In fact, studies have shown that midwife-attended home births for low-risk pregnancies are as safe as hospital births, according to the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC). As such, the current SOGC guideline supports a woman’s choice for a planned home birth, given that she is fully informed of all risks and benefits, and provided that “the birth is anticipated to be uncomplicated”.

To return to the question posed earlier, childbirth is an inherently risky process. For this reason, obstetrical procedures carry the highest rates of medical insurance premiums in Canada. Strictly speaking, therefore, no child birth is ‘safe’ because every delivery, no matter how ‘routine’, can potentially result in catastrophic and life-altering birth injuries to the baby, including cerebral palsy and other types of brain damage.

With this in mind, any woman who is considering a planned home birth by a midwife is well advised to familiarize herself with the Standards & Policies that regulate the scope of practice of midwives in British Columbia.

A number of important factors must be considered to ensure the safety of a planned home birth. First, a midwife has a duty to determine if the pregnancy poses a risk to the pregnant mother and/or the fetus, and whether or not the pregnant mother is an appropriate candidate for a planned home birth. There is a long list of conditions that may preclude a midwife from attending a home birth. These conditions may be present early on in the pregnancy, or they may develop at any time throughout the pregnancy or during labour. In those cases, the midwife is required to transfer the care of the client to a physician, which would require immediate transport to hospital if the labour was underway at home. Likewise, similar criteria exist with respect to water births. Second, a midwife has a duty to develop a written and detailed plan for a home birth. This plan should include an assessment of the home environment as a suitable birthing place. The midwife is also required to have the necessary equipment and supplies for home birth, as well as a comprehensive transport plan to the nearest hospital in case of an emergency. Finally, and most importantly, the midwife has a duty to obtain the client’s informed consent. In doing so, not only must the midwife discuss with the client any theoretical risks, but the midwife must also keep the client informed and updated regarding any unanticipated problems that arise at any stage of the pregnancy, including during labour.

The bottom line:

Midwife-assisted planned home births are a relatively safe option for a certain group of low-risk pregnancies, as described by the CMBA guidelines. In obtaining the client’s informed consent for a home birth, the midwife has a duty to determine the risk profile of the pregnancy and appropriateness of the client for a home birth, to clearly communicate and discuss those risks with the client and to develop a detailed plan, including an emergency transport plan. Most importantly, the midwife must be ready to promptly transfer the care of the patient to a physician when complications arise that exceed his or her scope of practice, or when requested by the pregnant mother.

If you have questions or concerns about your home birth experience, we are here to help. We work in collaboration with a team of lawyers, physicians, midwives and nurses. We will take the time to listen to your concerns, and carefully review your medical care in order to answer your questions. Please contact us for a free consultation.

Maysoon Zayid doesn’t believe in “can’t”

Thursday, August 13, 2020 By Admin

*Image by Karsten Moran for The New York Times*

Maysoon Zayid is a comedian, actress, writer, tap dancer, and disability advocate. She also happens to have cerebral palsy.

When Maysoon suffered a brain injury during birth, her parents were told that there were things she would never do, including walk. But they didn’t believe in “can’t”. Maysoon’s father taught her to walk at age five, and she’s not only been walking, but performing, ever since.

Her parents could not afford to send her to physical therapy so instead, she went to performance classes, and after a happy childhood in New Jersey, she went on to Arizona State University on an academic scholarship, majoring in theatre. However, after a discouraging experience in an acting class where she lost the role of a woman with cerebral palsy in favour of a nondisabled classmate, she began to notice the under-representation of people with visible disabilities in Hollywood. And if they were represented, they were largely portrayed by non-visibly disabled actors. People with disabilities make up 20% of the American population, but only 2% of those seen on American television; 95% of which are played by non-disabled actors.

Shifting gears to comedy, an industry she considers more accepting, Maysoon excelled. She is the first comedian to perform in Palestine and Jordan and the co-founder of the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival. She now travels all over the world performing stand-up comedy. What Maysoon calls her “big break” came in 2010 when she was asked to appear on the political news television program, Countdown with Keith Olberman. An exciting career milestone turned into a shocking lessen in internet trolls when she was confronted by hateful comments left online underneath the clip of her on the show. Maysoon says she never experienced bullying about her disability until entering the public eye on television. The experience inspired her to advocate for people with disabilities and champion better representation in entertainment.

Not only did she go on to become a regular contributor on Countdown with Keith Olberman, but her many successes since include a TedTalk with almost 11 million views and the founding of a charity called Maysoon’s Kids, which provided resources, programs and scholarships to orphaned and disabled children in Palestine.

To those who come to her for advice, she tells them this: “Don’t let your physical body or the treatment of others define you. Only you get to define you. Create the person you want to be and be that person.”

At Pacific Medical Law, we are committed to helping children living with cerebral palsy reach their full potential. We are here to help. Call us for a free consultation – we can provide information about community resources and supports as well as legal advice regarding your child’s rights for financial compensation.

Did your Premature Baby Receive Adequate Protection with Magnesium Sulphate?

Wednesday, April 22, 2020 By Letty Condon

Being born prematurely, before 37 weeks, can place babies at increased risk of certain health conditions, including cerebral palsy. Research shows these babies have a lower risk of having cerebral palsy when their mother is given a magnesium sulphate infusion before delivery. A new study has been published which shows that when women, who are about to deliver premature babies, receive this treatment, their babies had just over 30% less risk of developing cerebral palsy.

When a baby is born prematurely, their brain is more vulnerable to damage. Damage can occur when there is bleeding in the brain and research has shown that this can affect between 15 – 20% of babies born earlier than 32 weeks. Magnesium sulphate is known to help protect the brain of babies born prematurely but it is not fully understood how it does this. It may help keep blood pressure in the baby’s brain more stable or block certain chemicals from causing damage to the cells in the brain.

Around 2 – 9% of the total number of premature babies born before 34 weeks are affected by cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy affects the way the body moves and is usually diagnosed when a child or infant does not use their arms, hands or legs in a way expected for its age. They may have reduced movement or stiffness in their limbs or they may have movements that they cannot control. The way the body moves is controlled by the brain and damage to a baby’s brain in pregnancy, birth or early childhood can cause cerebral palsy.

In Canada, magnesium sulphate infusions should be considered for those who are likely to deliver a baby before 34 weeks’ gestation within the next 4 – 24 hours. A premature delivery may be suspected when the membranes around baby have prematurely ruptured, or broken, or where the cervix (the neck of the womb) is found to be dilated when mom is examined. The infusions are given through an intravenous (IV) line directly into the mother’s vein. The infusion may be given as one dose over 30 minutes alone, or with an additional infusion continuing until the premature baby is born. The infusion can make the mother feel flushed, nauseous and warm and so women often know if they have received this form of treatment. Magnesium sulphate infusions are considered safe for both mother and baby, and serious adverse effects are rare. There are certain circumstances where it is not advised that the mother receive this treatment, including where she is known to have suffered an allergic reaction to magnesium sulphate in the past or has certain heart conditions.

This new research looked at studies which included over 6,000 babies born prematurely and followed them up to 18 months to 2 years of age. The premature babies who were born to mothers who received magnesium sulphate were compared with premature babies born to mothers who did not receive magnesium sulphate. Babies whose moms had received magnesium sulphate had a relative risk reduction of 0.68 which means a more than 30% reduced risk of developing cerebral palsy. This research is encouraging for those providing medical care for mothers about to deliver before 34 weeks as this form of treatment has the potential to reduce the risk of cerebral palsy and impact significantly on the families caring for premature babies.

If you have questions about whether or not your premature baby received adequate protection from magnesium sulphate before birth, please contact infant child injuries attorney for a free consultation to discuss your concerns. Our cerebral palsy lawyers will do their best to answer your questions and provide you with legal advice about whether or not your child may be entitled to fair compensation for any special care or support required by your child as a result of a birth related injury. You may reach us at info@pacificmedicallaw.ca or at 604 685-2361.