William is 10 years old and has both hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy, specifically spastic diplegia. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a disorder of movement, muscle tone or posture that is caused by injury or abnormal development in the immature brain, most often before birth. (mayoclinic.com) When there is an injury to the white matter of the brain at birth or before birth, it can cause a comorbidity of both hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), cerebral palsy is the most common motor disorder in children. An estimated 800,000 individuals in the U.S. live with CP.
William horseback rides, plays the guitar, snowboards, does karate 2x a week, and rides a recumbent mountain bike. He loves to read adventure series, build Legos and create a lot of origami on a daily basis. William’s mom, Lori, wrote a blog last year during CP Awareness Month chronicling their family’s journey with hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy and detailing a surgical treatment option they pursued for William called Selective Percutaneous Myofascial Lengthening (SPML). Click here to read her blog.
No two people with CP are exactly alike, just like no two people with hydrocephalus are exactly alike. Learn more about cerebral palsy by visiting one of these websites.