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My Mum
mat4404
Member Posts: 1
My mum has very recently been diagnosed with having cerebral palsy which is a hard concept for me to grasp being as she's 53. Whilst the doctor has said she's always had it, I'm not sure what it means for her in the future. I had thought that as CP is a non-progressive disease That its effects would be stable too in terms of their scope (no pun intended) and magnitude. I'm guessing I may be wrong here.
My mums always been a touch unsure on her feet. Whilst she's not going to run a marathon though, she's genuinely able to walk a couple of miles or round town. Should I expect this to get worse? Any help would be appreciated as I want to help as much as I can.
Thanks
My mums always been a touch unsure on her feet. Whilst she's not going to run a marathon though, she's genuinely able to walk a couple of miles or round town. Should I expect this to get worse? Any help would be appreciated as I want to help as much as I can.
Thanks
Replies
Hi, your Mum's doctor is correct, she would have had cerebral palsy from a young age but she may not have been told this at the time. Often parents do not want their child to be labelled as having a particular condition so it is not uncommon for adults to suddenly discover they have cerebral palsy when they may have always thought that they just had difficulties walking, talking or difficulties in performing certain tasks. The cerebral palsy (i.e. the impairment to the brain) will be unchanged. What can alter is the effects of the condition on the body so walking, lifting, muscle tone, spasms can become more difficult as people get older.
As CP is such an individual condition, it is difficult to say if your Mum will get any worse and whether that will be due to the cp or general ageing. You can find some useful information about CP as well as Ageing and CP on the Scope website so you may find it useful to read this and then have a further chat with her GP. I can understand your concerns but is your Mum also worried and has she noticed a deterioration in her condition or abilities?