Meet Agyekum… we met Agyekum back in March when visiting another child that we were working with, we stepped off the Tro Tro (a local form of transport) and across the road Fred and I quickly spotted a young boy calling out to his friends sitting in a wheelchair with a big smile on his face. How could we not cross the road and meet this enchanting little boy and I am so glad that we did. We were not the only ones pulled in by Agyekum’s alluring smile and Agyekum quickly gained a wonderful sponsor. Agyekum is a wonderful, clever young boy with a great sense of humour. Agyekum has joined us in a few of our family days at our centre and he gets on great with the other children and loves joining in any activity that looks fun!
Agyekum has Cerebral Palsy affecting his physical development. Around two years ago his family were given a wheelchair and although this helped his family move him, it has not been great for his development. His family let him sit in the wheelchair all day every day and as the wheelchair is not supportive and is not designed to be a seat, Agygekum showed the initial development of scoliosis, meaning he has a slight curvature to his spine. Additionally, the family stopped letting Agyekum move independently, he used to be able to crawl but can no longer as his muscles have seized up a lot. Agyekum is a heavy boy, so it is becoming increasingly difficult to transfer him and we worry he will become more housebound. Agyekum has a good level of speech, although his academic development and vocabulary is delayed due to never being accepted into school. He lives in an area where he is included in fun with the local children but does not gain many other life experiences. Agyekum has now started monthly Physiotherapy and Speech and Language Therapy, both at home and following Covid-19 will return to the centre. In Physiotherapy, we have prioritised getting Agyekum specialist equipment. His chair has been made to promote proper sitting posture and hopefully reduce the curve progression of his scoliosis. Furthermore, his hips, knees ankles are well positioned and supported, and with his feet resting on the floor we will now work with Agyekum to gain strength to be able to pull himself to standing to transfer from chair to wheelchair or toilet, etc. We have also had a standing frame made to work on weight bearing, increasing strength and movement to prevent brittle bones. Agyekum tried a standing frame out at KATH and you have never seen a smile like it, this little boy who has been sitting for years and years was now standing up right, what an achievement and Agyekum definitely felt proud of himself. We aim to have AFO’s for Agyekum’s ankle-foot positioning when standing, but this is currently on hold as they rely on importing these and borders have been closed due to Covid-19. We are excited about Agyekum’s physical development, and both the chair and standing frame has a table and we aim to introduce more fine motor and academic activities.
Slide for more pictures
Speech and Language Therapy with Clement has been another great success, Clement has been working on increasing his vocabulary and recognising and identifying letter sounds through phonics and numbers and counting. Mum is being supported to learn Physiotherapy and Speech exercises and encouraged to carry them out daily at home.
Through therapy and fun activities, we hope to increase Agyekum’s independence as much as possible. Agyekum is a very clever boy, but due to the stigma in Ghana he has never been to school. School is something I would like to explore when they reopen in Ghana, there is a private school in his town which with our support are willing to accept and include him. If he could learn more social skills, simple English and Mathematics it would be a great achievement and could prepare him for a future job. We are so pleased to have met Agyekum and his family and welcome them into our big family support group. We are excited to see how they thrive with Family First Support.
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