Multiple jobs lost in effort to care for cerebral palsy child, says mother
Published:Monday | October 10, 2022 | 12:07 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
As a struggling single mother caring for her nine-year-old son Elijah Street, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth, Kameale Ellis is anxious to do her best to ensure her child’s well-being, having had to give up several jobs in the past to manage his condition.
Ellis, a 34-year-old resident of Barneyside, Westmoreland, told The Gleaner that meeting Elijah’s daily needs has been a perpetual challenge for her, since he is unable to walk or talk, has to wear diapers constantly, and has suffered from seizures in the past.
“Honestly, it is difficult, as I usually had to go back and forth to the clinic with Elijah. I also had to stop going to therapy with him; I was going into Kingston at a private institute for the therapy, and due to financial struggles I had to stop,” said Ellis.
“For the doctor’s visit, I pay $1,000 for each visit, and his medications in the beginning and coming up used to cost me $8,500, though currently he is not on any medication. The struggle now is paying someone to stay with him and finding his necessities, and that costs $14,000,” Ellis explained. “I stopped working from several companies since I had him, since he normally has seizure attacks and I had to be absent from work over and over. Presently I am working, but the difficulty I am having is that either I cannot find anyone to stay with him, or I get someone and it is very expensive.”
Ellis, who also has a 16-year-old daughter to provide for, admitted that Elijah’s diagnosis at birth came as a shock to her, as up to that time she had thought her pregnancy was normal.
“Truth be told, I was a bit shocked and confused because I was wondering how it happened. I had a healthy pregnancy, so I was wondering what happened, what caused this,” said Ellis. “I was in labour for two days prior to the date he was born; I went to the hospital and they told me I was only two centimetres dilated, so I was not ready and I should go home. I went home, but I was still in pain, so I went to Noel Holmes Hospital [in Hanover] and I was admitted there.”
The young mother’s confusion about her pregnancy’s outcome is not unusual, as Dr Roxanne Melbourne-Chambers, senior lecturer and consultant paediatric neurologist at the University Hospital of the West Indies, said that foetuses may suffer brain injuries that are only discovered after the children are born.
“All the way through the pregnancy, there are different risks for brain injury. Around the time of birth, and up until the child is two years old, brain injury can result in cerebral palsy, and if the injury happens around the time of birth, you may not recognise anything is too wrong,” said Melbourne-Chambers.
“What will happen is that when the baby is growing, they should be having better head control at two months, but the head control might be poor. Then when you expect the baby should be rolling over at three to four months, the baby may take longer to achieve that milestone, and he or she may take longer to reach the milestone of sitting unsupported, which takes place at six months,” Melbourne-Chambers explained.
Presently, Ellis has to feed Elijah with Nestum formula and Lasco drink mixes, of which he will consume three tins per week. He also eats cereal, though he will sometimes eat other food items aside from meat.
Ellis said that while she gets occasional financial help from Elijah’s father, from whom she has been separated since Elijah was two years old, it is not enough to meet the child’s needs or secure herself economically. She is seeking assistance to provide better financial support for her son’s needs.
“Elijah’s father will try to throw in something every other week, like $5,000, sometimes less, because he says either nothing is happening at his job or he has other children to take care of. If the father gives me $5,000, I have to put another $5,000 on it because diapers and feed are expensive,” Ellis lamented.
“With just having a base pay, and with me also having a 16-year-old in grade 10, I have to take care of that one and all the associated necessities, plus I have to find fare to go back to work, ensure Elijah gets diapers and to pay the person watching him, and it is just not working out for me. I am looking help to get a deep-freeze where I can help myself by selling either ice cream or something that goes on the fridge to back me up financially.”
Persons wishing to help nine-year-old Elijah Street may contact his mother Kameale Ellis at 876-472-4923.