What is CP?

Amongst my family, relatives and friends, none of them have ever seen children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) until Mikaail comes along. In fact, before Mikaail, I did not even know that such things can happen! Every other baby that I had seen before is so cute and normal. Mikaail was very cute as well and that is why it is super disappointing to see him not being able to enjoy his life to the fullest!


The doctor who diagnosed him told us that unlike a normal child where you can leave him/her on its own, you need to give full attention to the CP child or he will hurt himself.

People generally take things for granted. For children with CP, their first step or word is not easy as CP affects the regular things that children do.

Although I still feel "shortchanged" sometimes, as I didnt get to hear Mikaail's first proper word nor taking his first step on his own, I am now better able to understand him through the regular weekends that I spent with him. I'm not sure if it is a blessing though I cant imagine not having him by my side.

Some CP kids go around in wheelchairs and others walk with the help of crutches or braces. Some may have their speech affected or the person might not be able to speak at all. Mikaail is wheelchair bound after he had stroke. Stroke at 7 is rarely heard of actually and stroke robbed him of his vision, speech and mobility. It's been 4 years now and I still cant understand what the medical team were thinking about when they wanted to save his life without the basic quality of life!

A person with CP has trouble controlling the muscles of the body. Our body moves because the brain tells the rest of the body exactly what to do and when to do it. Since CP affects the brain, a person with CP may not be able to walk, talk, eat, eat or play the way most normal children do. This depends greatly on the severity of the damage to the brain and which part of the brain is affected.


Although Cerebral Palsy (say: seh-ree-brel pawl-zee) is a condition that affects thousands of babies and children around the world each year, it is not contagious. You cant catch it from anyone who has cerebral palsy. Cerebral means it has something to do with the brain. Palsy refers to a weakness in a person's movement or the way the body is positioned.