12-y-o with cerebral palsy needs device to help her speak
Published:Saturday | December 19, 2020 | 12:16 AMJason Cross/Gleaner Writer
Christmas is just a week away and Tanya Miller is finding it hard to be joyous in the season of cheer. Along with the economic stresses which the COVID-19 pandemic has heaped on her family, she is finding it increasingly challenging to care for her 12-year-old daughter, Shamara Fraser, who suffers from cerebral palsy.
Miller fought hard to mask her sadness as she spoke with The Gleaner.
She said the challenges began when Shamara, a grade six student of the Hope Valley Experimental Primary School, was cut off from oxygen during labour and, since then, she has been suffering frequent seizures.
While Shamara was attending basic school, Miller had a frightening encounter when she went to pick her up one afternoon.
“She had been sleeping all day, so she didn’t even eat. The teacher said she didn’t wake her up because she didn’t know it was that serious. When I reached, I put her under the pipe and she still didn’t respond. The children ran out a road and start cry seh she dead, but me never give up. Mi run with her go doctor and the doctor pumped her heart and she vomit. She never woke up till 6 p.m.,” Miller said.
“She keeps on having seizures. Since COVID-19, she has had it a couple of times. Instead of coming out with one foot forward, [she is going backwards]. Her body has to be reprogrammed. She can’t even sit up again. This is very stressful for me,” she explained.
Seeking assistance
Miller is seeking some assistance to help her navigate the COVID-19 challenges.
“Mi nuh see Christmas yet still, you know, but mi nah give up. We need foodstuff. I do sewing, but, because of COVID-19, nobody nah really go no party. Mi woulda like some help fi start a shop business,” she said.
Although the family describes Shamara as smart, she cannot speak clearly and her mother is hopeful that they will get help to purchase a device to remedy that challenge.
The Optimist Club at St Matthew’s Anglican Church has pledged to lead the initiative to ensure the child gets the Tobii Dynavox, an augmentative and alternative communication device similar to what was used by the late renowned physicist Stephen Hawking.
The Dynavox costs more than US$1,000, according to a physical therapist with knowledge of Shamara’s case. Shamara attended reading classes at the Club.
“The Optimist Club endeavours to assist Shamara and so that is why we ... pleading for assistance for Shamara,” Club President Isha McLeary told The Gleaner.
“We really want to bring out the best in Shamara and her family so she can continue her education. We want her to get the device that her mother is asking for, so we can clearly hear when she speaks.”
Persons seeking to assist Shamara may contact Isha McLeary at 876-7990751 or 876-3315207.