Meet Eva

Meet Eva and her mum Sashah

Sashah was 31 weeks pregnant when she was rushed by helicopter from Rotorua to Auckland with a ruptured uterus.  After a touch and go few hours for both mum and baby, little Eva was delivered weighing just 1880grams.  She was transferred immediately to Auckland City Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where she would spend the next two weeks, followed by a further six weeks in Rotorua hospital. 

 It’s hard to imagine a more stressful start to Eva’s life, but despite her traumatic entry into the world, as the months went by Eva thrived.  Sasha says Eva was smiley and happy, but noticed early on that she wasn’t as physically active as her other children had been.  By 8-months old, Eva still wasn’t rolling, sitting or grabbing her feet. Initially they had thought this could just be because she was born premature, but Sashah had a niggling feeling there was more to it.  Finally, after numerous visits to doctors and pediatricians, at 12-months old Sashah and her partner were told that it was likely that Eva had cerebal palsy.  Shocked and scared, they struggled to make sense that their smiley little girl, who apart from not meeting some physical development milestones, could have such a diagnosis. 

 Eva is now nearly 18 months old and continues to be a smiley, chatty and very determined little girl, but their family’s life is now very different.  To get the best outcomes for Eva, she needs intensive therapy several times a week, which is more than an hour away from their home.  Sashah’s partner has had to stop work so he can take Eva to all her appointments as well as meet the needs of their other three children. Life on a single income is tough.

 Sashah says they are making sense of their new world the best they can, but says that what families desperately need is more support. “We would be lost without the support of the CP Society and the programmes they provide.  It has been so wonderful to be able to access a support network, because otherwise families like ours have to go it alone.  It can be lonely and scary.   

Do you have a story you would like to share with us? We would like to share more stories from our members about their journey with CP.  Please email these through to our Family Support Manager, Gemma Overton on gemma@cpsociety.org.nz