Getting Grayson to Australia

Grayson was born in October 2023, and spent a little over 5 weeks in the Christchurch neonatal ICU receiving treatment for hyperinsulinaemia, a condition in which his blood sugars- crucial for brain development, were dropping to dangerously low levels. With medication, this condition was corrected and we were discharged with a nasogastric feeding tube.

When Grayson was 3 and half months old and still on the feeding tube, it was picked up that he had low central tone with ongoing feeding issues. Investigative bloods were done and we were referred to early intervention services with The Champion Centre where he is seen weekly by physio, developmental learning and speech language therapists.

Now, at almost 9 months old, he has been weaned from the feeding tube but concerns regarding his motor function and muscle tone remain. Although we still have no diagnosis, we do have hope and have been doing everything we can to help him.

The first 3 years are so critical for brain development and outside of The Champion Centre, and our own private Feldenkrais, and Osteopath we have looked into the Centre of Movement. This is a paediatric rehabilitation course in Australia that offers intensive therapy with a range of specialists for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week for 3 weeks. Currently, there are no programmes like this available in NZ and we would love to give Grayson this opportunity to see him hopefully meet early childhood milestones.