Bradley - by his
sister Amanda
My name is Amanda and I am 14 years old. 1 would
like to tell you about my little brother Bradley.
He is 9 years old and was born on the 15.12.89 with
Cri Du Chat Syndrome, which means cry of the cat.
He needs glasses and hearing aids. He can feed
himself (when, he wants to!) but cannot yet walk or
talk, although he does do some sign language e.g.
biscuit, food/drink, finished and toilet. He can
also walk if you hold on to him.
Bradley being the way he is has changed our
lives. We need to help him more and he needs to be
looked after more than a normal 9 year old
child.
I remember it was Christmas Eve and we went to
the Frankston Hospital to see if he could come
home. I cried so much because I wanted him to be
home for Christmas. He did end up coming home then
which was a relief, but I was so upset at the time.
But it was a great Christmas present just to have
him home.
As he has grown up through the years, I notice
how much cleverer he has gotten. He also loves my
wallpaper in my bedroom. He used to stand up at my
door, waiting for someone to open it for him, until
he learned to open it himself. He climbs on my bed
and just stares, with his nose touching the wall,
at the little people on it. But because we used to
have lots of fun on my bed listening to loud music
and dancing in my room, he now loves it so much and
thinks of it as a sort of playroom. He chucks my
toys off my bed, even my pillow and sometimes my
doona. Once, I came in and he had swiped everything
off my desk and shelf, so that's when I had to stop
letting him in by changing the doorknob to a round
one. It was a shame though, because he has so much
fun.
He's such a happy little boy. Sure, he has his
moments, but he always entertains himself and very
rarely cries. The only bad thing is pulling hair.
It kills! He's been doing that for a while now, but
hopefully he'll grow out of it soon.
I love playing with him and roughing him up
because he can never stop laughing. He is very
ticklish. His laugh is so cute!
He is so precious to me. I have pictures of him
around my room and all in my school diary. I love
him so much and I always will, no matter what is
wrong with him or how naughty he is, he's my little
"B".
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UPDATE 2002
It's hard to believe that
Bradley is now 13. Where
has the time gone? He no
longer wears the upsuit,
however he may need to go
back into one at a later
stage. He has AFOs now
which help hold his little
feet in the correct
position, assisting him
with standing and walking.
I thought it was about
time I gave in and got
Bradley a wheelchair. It
was a very hard move for
me to make but I have to
admit he sits up straight
in it and it is a
lot easier to push him
around now when we are out
and about. It's a lovely
purple colour and he can
self-propel it, if and
when he so chooses. He
still can't steer. He
walks quite well with his AFOs, however, only aided.
I guess in 13 years he has
come a long way, not as
well as I would have liked
in some areas, but he
makes up for it because he
is such a delightful
little boy and will always
put a smile on my face.
Email Wendy Craig
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Bradley - Spring 2002
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