The Epic Journey of Sophie Dove - One little girl who is determined to beat the odds!

Sophie is a determined, sociable, bright and loving little girl who has massive challenges with getting her body to do what she wants it to do. Thankfully we have found some therapies that are really helping her and giving us hope.

Sophie had a tough start in life and suffered severe brain damage from oxygen deprivation, she had such a tough birth that she required 30 minutes of resuscitation to get breathing on her own. At less than 24hrs old she was transferred by helicopter to Starship Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

At 4 days old we got to have our first cuddle with our baby girl and were overjoyed that she had made it this far and was stable. The next day she had an MRI Scan, the results were heartbreaking to hear. The doctor told us that this was the worst possible news he could ever give us, He told us that if she had anymore trouble with breathing we should let her go as the damage to her brain was so severe.

Luckily Sophie is one tough cookie and not only did she not have anymore trouble breathing on her own she has overcome so many more challenges.

Fast forward to today and Sophie is healthy and full of life! However due to the brain damage she has quadriplegic cerebral palsy. This affects her muscle tone which makes moving and controlling her body very difficult. Sophie is still learning to sit unassisted and crawl, she also has difficulty with head control and using her arms.

The first few years of life are a very special window of time, as the brain and the body are both growing and developing at a rapid rate. Which means it's a powerful opportunity to provide Sophie with the help she needs to learn functional movement patterns. The more "normal" movement Sophie can learn at a young age the less damage will be done to her developing joints and muscles from "abnormal" movement.

Sophie is a star and has responded so well to her therapies and has already exceeded so many of the health professionals expectations. We believe that with the right opportunities and help Sophie will continue to do so. We would love you to help support Sophie and her parents on this journey, your support has the ability to make a massive difference to Sophie's life.