Tom was born on 14th November 1996 after a normal labour and delivery. The first concerns were raised when he would not latch on to feed and began to shiver. The midwife thought he was cold and wrapped him up warmer. When a doctor arrived he thought he was fitting - we never did get to the bottom of this. An NG tube was inserted so he could be fed. He was introduced to his family before we were moved to the ward and everyone else went home to rest. A while later he was moved to SCBU as his condition had deteriorated - I went with him. This was to be our home for the next 3 weeks while tests were done and attempts were made to get him to feed.

He came home about ten days before Christmas 1996. We were armed with a squeezy bottle to feed him as he had no suck swallow reflex. Feeding remained a problem throughout his early years and there would be appointments with a specialist feeding team and a recommendation that he be peg fed which we resisted. Reflux was also an issue.

A neurology appointment and MRI at 11 months reached the conclusion that he had cerebral palsy and life settled into a pattern of physio, O/T, Hydro, Portage, Speech and feeding appointments. Plus a referral to the Genetics Team at Guys.