A mum in Cardiff is fundraising for a new wheelchair for her disabled son while she undergoes treatment for a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Mum-of-two Eliska Zidova, 30, who lives in Gabalfa, is crowdfunding for an off-road wheelchair for her four-year-old son Eddie Rouse, who has cerebral palsy and currently uses a "heavy and unwieldy" wheelchair provided by the NHS.
She and her ex-partner, Ben Rouse - Eddie's dad - hope the new wheelchair will further their son's "passion for adventure and adrenaline" and help him to "keep up with the other kids at school". In just five days, Eliska has fundraised £4,400 via GoFundMe for the new wheelchair which costs £4,850 without any adaptations or extra features.
She said she didn't expect such a strong and fast response to her campaign, but thinks it is is a testament to how popular and well-loved Eddie is within the local community. "Because of his personality and because it's the only disabled child in the class, he got lots of lots of friends and lots of mums know about him and the teachers absolutely adore him...all the older kids in school as well help him."
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The successful campaign has come in the midst of a difficult period for Eliska and her family. Around six months into her second pregnancy with her baby girl in April last year, she noticed a lump in her right breast.
She underwent surgery in June while she around eight months pregnant to remove a 5cm tumour - an experience which she describes as "terrifying" - and could not have anyone with her due to Covid regulations. In August, she was diagnosed with an invasive form of Stage 3 breast cancer - known as triple negative metaplastic breast cancer - that requires "very radical treatment".
After she had to give birth three weeks early so she could start treatment, Eliska has since undergone chemotherapy and will be starting radiotherapy from this week until February. She said she experienced "all the side effects" of chemotherapy - and was left feeling so unwell Eddie would have to stay with his dad for a week after each treatment session, while her partner, Lloyd, cared for her and their newborn.
As the cancer was caught early and hadn't spread to her lymph nodes, it is hoped that she will have the all-clear at her next scan in March. Describing September until November last year as "worst months of my life so far", Eliska said she wouldn't have been able to cope without the support from her family and friends.
She added that her diagnosis had "changed my priorities over the last few months". She told WalesOnline: "I just want to be healthy and be there for my kids and see them grow up and be healthy."
Originally from the Czech Republic, Eliska has lived in Cardiff for over seven years and works as student visa compliance officer at Cardiff University. She had a "straightforward" pregnancy with Eddie, but at around 23 weeks she "just started bleeding" and went to hospital. Doctors told her she was in labour and a few days later she gave birth to Eddie at just 24 weeks (about five months) in May 2018.
"It was very overwhelming because I don't have my family here. My family lives very far away and they couldn't just pick up and come come here whenever they want." Eddie weighed only 640g and Eliska recalled: "He could fit in my hand...he was so fragile".
He suffered two bleeds in his brain just a few hours after he was born, which was the cause of his cerebral palsy, and he had to spend five months in hospital. "He was struggling for life for a couple of weeks after he was born. We were in the position of waiting for a phone call at home, just to say: 'Pease come come in and say goodbye' - which happened twice. But he pulled through and survived."
She continued: "He's a little a miracle. He just was so determined to be here because he wanted to be born early...even when I was giving birth, I was told by the doctors that there was a 99% chance that he would die during during the birth and he survived. He just wants to be here and he's so happy that I think it's a sign that he's just so determined and he just wants to be happy. And he shows that to us every day."
A few months after Eddie was discharged from hospital, his parents noticed he was not achieving the normal milestones. Eventually, after they saw more and more developmental delays, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Doctors also suspect Eddie might have an information processing disorder as he is "slightly delayed" compared to his peers, but it is too early for a diagnosis at this stage. Three of his limbs are affected by his condition - with his left arm weak and both legs weaker - so he is unable to walk by himself.
"I never expected to have a child that would be disabled, but nobody does. You just learn to live with it and find ways to try to make things better...little things, little ways to sort of improve his chances of having normal life." She added that although Eddie's diagnosis "hit" her at the time, life "has not been that difficult".
She said: "He's just a bundle of joy and a chatterbox, and I wouldn't change him for the world." Today Eddie has a "boisterous" personality and enjoys doing "anything that's fast".
"I used to have an off-road buggy for him when he was little, and he would just love all the bumps and going very fast. And so I started noticing that he's just really into rollercoasters, trains - anything that's fast. Recently, he started riding horses, which is part of therapy for cerebral palsy because it's quite physical. He just loves adrenaline."
After Eddie enjoyed himself so much on a recent trip to Legoland, she had the idea of getting him a more sturdy off-road wheelchair so enjoy he can being more active and independent - more appropriate than his current wheelchair which can only be used on flat surfaces.
Eliska was in a "bad mental health state" after Eddie's premature birth. She started a blog about Eddie's diagnosis and development to help her "process" and "cope" with everything, as well as share her premature birth story. "I wanted to share with others and make sure that people know that you can give birth early and it can have consequences. I didn't have a clue. I just thought that pregnancy last nine months and that's how it is and I never imagined that I would give birth that early."
Eliska intends to revive the blog soon and give an update once Eddie has received his new wheelchair. To donate to the fundraiser for Eddie, click here.
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