A mum from Bristol is raising money for her little boy, after it was confirmed the NHS does not entirely fund the urgent aftercare he will need after a critical operation that will transform his life. On November 6, 2012, Monika Kowalska went into a sudden, early labour and gave birth prematurely to her son Kai, who then had a stroke.
Kai was then diagnosed with spastic diplegia, a chronic neuromuscular condition of leg spasticity (a type of cerebral palsy), which critically affects his leg muscles. Now aged nine, Kai, from Long Ashton, is an active, sports-loving young boy, who often feels excluded from his peers at school as he gets tired after walks, has a problem with his balance and feels very unstable while walking downstairs or down hills.
The young Bristol boy has been selected for a life-transforming operation, selective dorsal rhizotomy surgery (SDR), where nerve roots are cut in the spine to reduce leg spasticity. However, the NHS only partially provides the aftercare little Kai will need, which is two years of post-surgery, very intense physiotherapy - so Monika has taken to fundraising to support her young son.
