Father worries for future of daughter afflicted with cerebral palsy

Mushtaq Ahmad says he lost hope when doctors advised him to seek therapy for his daughter

PESHAWAR: For Mushtaq Ahmad, the father of two-year-old Iman, having a daughter was a moment of joy.

But when doctors told him that his daughter was suffering from cerebral palsy, the father of three began to worry about his child’s future.

“I do not say taking care of a boy is any easier, but when you find out that your baby girl is born with cerebral palsy, it is something which is hard to believe,” Ahmad said.



He was attending a World Cerebral Palsy Day event in the provincial capital last week at the Akbar Kare Institute. The institute is a non-governmental organisation where children with cerebral palsy are offered therapy with assistance from International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Ahmad was joined by dozens of other parents who were visiting with their children. They hoped that one day their kids will live their lives like normal children, others though, seemed to have lost all hope.

Cerebral Palsy is considered to be a neurological disorder caused by a non-progressive brain injury or malformation that occurs while the child’s brain is under development in the womb. Cerebral palsy primarily affects the body’s motor functions, movement and muscle coordination.



Iman, Ahmad said, was born with cerebral palsy. He took her to a health facility near his home where doctors told Ahmad that his baby needs to be examined by experts at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH).

“I thought experienced doctors would be able to find a way to cure her, but when LRH doctors told me to shift her to a therapy centre, I lost all hope,” Ahmad told The Express Tribune.

Ahmad says he was worried about little Iman’s future. While anyone can feed her, but not everyone can help her in more private affairs once she grows up.



“Her mother has two more kids but all her attention has now diverted towards Iman,” he said with a hint of worry for his two other children.

Around 9,300 kids suffering from cerebral palsy are registered with the Akbar Kare Institution across the country including children from Karachi, Lahore and Sargodha. Since the organisation does not have a residency programme, children are, especially those from outside Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Peshawar are asked to visit on a monthly basis for therapy.

Muhammad Raza, a senior supervisor at the institute stated that they provide treatment free of cost, but consultations from neuro-physicians are mostly paid for by parents.

“We provide therapy so that children with cerebral palsy can become independent and they are not dependent on others,” he informed.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10^th, 2017.