The Miracle of a Hopeless Vegetable. Review on Knowing About your Child's Health

I'm writing this not for the majority but for a minority who had the misfortune to have a retard in the family. It’s about a child who is pronounced a retard and a vegetable by eminent physicians but saved miraculously by Vojta therapy.

My daughter is eight years old now. When she has been born, unfortunately for her and us, she has posed a small problem for the gynaecologist. She has been a breech presentation. In layman’s words her legs have come out first instead of her head.

Yep, the gynaecologist knew it before the delivery. My wife requested her to do a Caesarean section, as it was our third and last child. The doctor comforted her saying that since her two previous labours were normal and safe this one would also be easy and safe even though it was a breech presentation. My wife couldn't do anything more than allowing the gynaecologist to proceed with her fancy, as she was helpless on the labour couch.

During the delivery, the child’s head was caught inside the pelvis of its mother and there was a delay. By the time they got the head out, the precious first four minutes of my daughter were over and she was not breathing. There was no oxygen cylinder available in the labour room(negligence), and by the time they rushed her to the SCBU(Special Care Baby Unit) my child was almost brain-dead. Her initial Apgar score when she began breathing was 4 while a normal baby’s would be 10.

I saw her 12 days after her birth. She was still, cried rarely, and spent most of her time in a comatose state. I took her to an eminent neurologist who sent her for an MRI and predicted that most probably she would remain paralysed for the rest of her life. We took opinions of other doctors, including paediatricians. Not a single one gave us any hope. X-rays showed her ligaments loose and her muscle tone was very poor.

Ten months passed. My daughter remained in the crib like a new born baby with minimum movements of her limbs.

One day my mother saw an article about Vojta therapy. It was given at Jeevan Prakash centre in Trivandrum. It is a non-profit institution run by the nuns and charges nothing for the services they render. The therapy was introduced by a German doctor, Professor Dr. Hellbruegge. The therapist doesn't touch the patient directly. Instead some kind of vibration(energy) which is generated by the palms of the therapist is applied at vital points of the body. The vibration is transferred through the thin layer of air between the therapist’s palms and the patient’s body.  Anyone with a little dedication and love can learn how to give the therapy. From the centre they taught our maid to do it. Initially my daughter received therapy twice a day.

The coming part is not a miracle for people who have seen babies walking when they are ten months old. But for us things were different. My daughter began to turn on her sides when she was eleven months old, to crawl when she was one year old, to sit up when she was two years old, and to stand up when she was three. All her ligaments were weak. When she bent her hands inward, they touched her lower arms. Her knees were supple and her shinbones slipped over her ankles.

Well, physically she was somewhat acceptable, but what about her mental calibre? We were quite apprehensive then.

Surprising us she began to talk when she was four years old. And when she talked it was as if something had blocked up her verbal flow so far. Instead of beginning with single words like other babies, she began with sentences. From then on she showed exotic grasping power and learned things very fast.

We gave her therapy until she was six years old. After that the people at Jeevan Prakash asked us to stop it.

Now my daughter is studying in class III and ranks top in class. Sometimes she answers questions to her brother(studying in class VI) by just listening to him reading. She is humorous and talks endlessly.

We are thankful to God and Vojta therapy. We got our daughter back despite the ignorance and negligence of a gynaecologist.

When we went to Jeevan Prakash we saw many parents bringing their mentally retarded children there. Vojta therapy is safe even for a normal child, enabling it to develop its mental powers faster and better. Speech therapy is also a part of it which helps many children who have speech problems. I think it has worked well with my daughter.

I don't know whether any such centres are there in your places or not. If there is, take your mentally handicapped child there as soon as possible. There is no need to think that such children can never improve.

I hope my article will be useful to some people who are desperately despondent.

Thank you for reading.