Joel Anthony Lago was born on 5 December 1992, weighing 1345 grams, or 2lb 15oz. He arrived at the Wesley Hospital, Brisbane, by emergency caesarean section, 10 weeks premature, as a result of my haveing pre-eclampsia.

Joel was diagnosed with Left Hemiplegia when he was 8 months old. A CAT scan revealed everything was normal. We were told it was a result of lack of oxygen to the brain before, during or after birth, or a brain bleed at some stage.

His left leg is affected slightly but he can walk, run and jump normally. He just runs on his tippy toes, the heel doesn't touch the ground all the time. His left arm is mostly affected. He can't grasp things in his hand for long and has trouble getting his arm to do what he wants. His arm draws up to his body mostly when he is tired or has had a growth spurt - the result of the muscles shortening. We are going to physio and occupational therapy every 3 months and see a peaditrician every 6 months. I am into natural therapies as well, some of which are explained below. Joel has to wear an arm band called 'Second Skin' which is a lycra based band which makes him stretch his arm more. We have noticed a difference when he wears this.So far we haven't needed to splint his foot and ankle but this might be needed later on, depending on how loose we can keep his achilles' tendon and keep getting some heel strike when walking and standing.
 Joel wears this arm band for 6 hours during the day. It is made of lycra and each section is individually measured to fit that part of the arm. The pale piece near the crook of the elbow is made of lighter material to make it easier to bend his arm. Note the caveman piece of material, Joel was allowed to pick something really cool looking and he chose this. This arm band runs from under his arm to his wrist. It also has  boning in parts of it to put extra pressure on certain muscles. The aim of the arm band is to  put pressure on the muscles to keep the arm down and relaxed. He is still able to bend his arm, but the band makes it harder and he is more aware of the resistance.
 

  Joel wears another band in conjuction with the first one. This arm band has boning in the thumb to help keep the thumb out and not fisted. It has pieces of material between the fingers to keep them separate. We find this band can often be more of a hinderance as it makes it nearly impossible to hold things in his hand. We are having a break  from wearing it at the moment.
 

I am trained in the 'Bowen Technique' and Joel has this done once a week. We have been happy with the results. It is a system of muscle and connective tissue therapy. You make gentle moves on soft tissue which stimulate energy flow, empowering the body's own resources to heal itself.

We have had good results with Kinesiology. This therapy uses muscle testing to determine imbalances or disharmonies in mind, body or spirit. It then has a whole range of techniques to correct these imbalances. Kinesiology uses your body's bio-feedback system. Our therapist is Ross McLaren from 'Energised Health' on the Gold Coast. Ross is also a herbalist and has tried Joel on various herbal remedies which have helped.

Joel also sees a Chiropractor once a month. He practices Sacral Occipital Therapy (S.O.T.) and other techniques which are a very mild muscle manipulation with no bone crunching as opposed to other chiropractic procedures. It involves using very specific blocks, or wedges to correct the dural membranes of the spinal column. He uses an Activator to make any corrections, which is very gentle and offers a very fast impulse that encourages a bone back into place, without any force. Joel actually enjoys it and is very relaxed after a session.

Our early days consisted of us telling Joel to use 'two hands' all the time. He is now at the age where he can understand this and it has helped us getting him to do everyday things. When he was 2 we got him a tricycle and insisted he only use it with two hands on the handles. Joel insisted he could do it fine with one. There were many fights. We kept at it and now when he rides his bike it is automatic that he uses two hands and he has mastered the peddaling like any other child. We are now trying to master using two hands on his golf clubs.

Joel attends an everyday preschool 4 days a week and has fitted in well. He started at the Carindale and Carina Community Children's Centre when he was 2. The staff have been wonderfuland he is treated like any other child and expected to do the same tasks as every one else. We are finding if he can't do something the way other children do, he adapts it himself so he can complete the task. Sometimes children ask he why he is doing it a different way and Joel
casually replies because his arm doesn't work very well but it is getting better. He does a class of 'Kinda Dance' there, which he loves and is good for his coordination, as well as a 'Musical Beginnings' class. He has been learning swimming since he was a year old and has just learnt to swim across the width of the pool by himself. We are so proud of this new major achievement. Joel also does a 'Kodaly Music' class once a week. Joel has just started to do Tae Kwon Do and is keeping up with the other kids and really enjoys it. Joel also does a 'Kodaly Music' class once a week. Can you tell he keeps us busy!

Joel seems to be a real 'smarty', picks up things quickly and has no problems understanding things. He has an incredible memory. He was a bit slow to talk, only had a vocab of 70 words when he turned 2, I don't know if it was because of his hemiplegia or something else, but has no problems now. He started to stutter when he was 3 and received speech therapy for 18 months.

All in all Joel is a very happy child with a wonderful, bubbly personality and doesn't let his hemiplegia affect him in everyday situations. He has enriched our lives and has taken me on a journey to places I would have never even thought of if it hadn't been for his hemiplegia.

If you would like to learn more about Joel and his family you can visit them

HERE