Colin's Story / George Jeffrey Children's Foundation / Thunder Bay, Ontario

Colin's Story

January 6, 2015

Colin Cook was welcomed into this world in 1998 but unfortunately experienced complications at delivery and had to be resuscitated. A short 14 months later he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP). CP is a term used to describe a collection of disorders caused by abnormal brain developmental or complications at birth. CP causes problems with muscle tone, movement, balance and co-ordination. Symptoms and effects range from mild to severe and are normally evident soon after birth. At 15 months Colin and his family started their journey with George Jeffrey Children's Centre attending physiotherapy and occupational therapy assisting Colin with crawling, sitting and hand co-ordination. It became a family affair; parents and extended family like Colin's grandfather Chris Preen were encouraged to attend the therapy sessions to see what was being done and how they could assist Colin with mobility and specialized stretching to help through his growing spurts. Colin saw an Orthopedic Surgeon at the Centre on a regular basis and as therapy progressed speech therapy was introduced. Colin's mother Mandy recalls that at this point she and her husband Les attended Colin's speech therapy classes better enabling them to help Colin with his speech at home.

Mandy says, "The Centre has not only been a support with therapy for Colin, but they have provided direction on how to obtain information on how to access government run programs that would assist them with equipment purchases, orthotic leg braces and computer equipment for home to assist him with communication and homework."

Colin is now 15 and still attends therapy at the Centre. He is part of the PALS group (Peer Adolescent Leadership Skills) taking cooking classes and instruction on how to use the youth kit, a tool that helps teenagers set goals for themselves and learn how to take control of their finances and medical information throughout their adult years. Colin may have had a complicated start to life but soon to be 16 he has developed into a popular well-rounded young man on the honor roll at high school, and will be able to contribute much to society and is looking forward to a bright future.

Mandy Cook adds, "We cannot express enough our appreciation to the staff at George Jeffrey Children's Centre for all their direction, advice and top notch service in helping us raise our wonderful son. He has come such a long way with their help. We are hopeful our journey will help others understand how much the Centre helps children that come through their doors."