When I gave birth to my child, a son named Oleka, and there was no noticeable problem. But after 5 months I noticed that he was not growing well. Gradually over time I realised that he could only sit down at the time he was supposed to be crawling and then he seemed to have difficulties speaking. By the time he was 2 years old he could not still walk. He crawled around the whole compound and was unable to even stand up. We did not know what to do.
When the time came I registered him in the school, but I had to carry him there on my back every day and at the end of school hours I carried him home again. As he got bigger and heavier I sometimes had to leave him locked up in the house when I had to go to the farm or to the market. This situation was a big burden to me and really restricted what I could do since I had to carry him to places when he was supposed to walk to on his own.
In 2017, Amaudo staff visited me at home because a doctor who knew about my son’s inability to stand and walk had informed Project Comfort staff. Members of the community-based rehabilitation (CBR) team came to visit us at our home in Item, Abia State. This visit of Amaudo (CBR) workers marked the beginning of the change in my son’s life and in my own life.
Amaudo community-based rehabilitation workers provided regular physiotherapy for my son and trained me on how I could support him with these exercises. After some months of their visits my son began to sit stand up with support. Once he had done this Amaudo bought him some crutches and the physiotherapist started to teach him how to use them. Slowly he learnt how to walk on his own.
Today my son can walk to school, church and above all he does not crawl around at home and the compound. I no longer have to carry my son on my back he can walk independently to all f the places he needs to go. I don’t have to lock my son up in the house any more when I am going to the farm because he can freely play with his friends.
Indeed, Amaudo changed my family’s life.
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