Laura was born 24 July 1984 - diagnosis cerebral palsy spastic quadriplegia.

Previous therapies tried:

• Conductive Education between ages of 4 until 12 years.
• 75 sessions of HBOT.
• Physical therapy and use of both rigid and inflatable splints.
• David Hart orthotic walker age 10/12.
• G-Therapy was started at the age of 12 and continues until today April 2000

Laura has had no surgery. She has taken G-Therapy for 5 years.

I feel that of all the above therapies we have tried for Laura that G-Therapy has been the only one that appears to have worked on a neuronal level. Though the initial changes had been startling, progress was more slow afterwards as it appeared she had so many corrections to make in her body. It has been a rewarding learning process for both of us.

a) relates to Laura prior to G-Therapy.
b) relates to global changes observed during G-Therapy.

1a) previously dribbled/drooled in bed. Could not turn under bedding.
1b) No longer dribbles in bed, bedding is cleaner and she turns with ease now in the bed.

2a) Unable to roll tongue. Speech tone could be weak.
2b) rolls tongue with ease. Breathing became stronger, speech much more stronger and powerful.

3a) Immune system. This seemed underdeveloped and Laura had many chilblains.
3b) Laura seemed to develop childhood bugs more normally and shake them off well. There has been a huge improvement in her circulation, for the last two winters she has only had one chilblain each winter.

4a) Mealtimes. Unable to swallow tablet medication, it had to be crushed in a teaspoon. She made a lot of mess at mealtimes. Laura's fluid intake was very low.
4b) Laura can swallow large vitamin tablets today without any fluid. Laura drinks much more than she did before G-Therapy. Laura's appetite is excellent.

5a) Fine Motor Control. This was poor. A marked preference in using her left hand. Laura could not curl her toes down.
5b) Fine motor control much improved. Laura's writing and drawing noticeably improved. She will use her right hand on the computer now. She attempts to use scissors with some success, and unbelievably managed to cracks nuts with a nutcracker. Her wrists have improved with the crawling, as I feel has the rest of her body. Laura started to curl her toes downwards after 18 months on G-Therapy.

6a) Gross Motor Control. Laura could not get into a crawling position, she constantly fell to the right. She could not put her bottom onto her heels. Laura could not pull herself up to standing nor get into a side-sitting position.
6b) She can now side-sit both to the left and right while holding a bar. She can also crawl up on her fours. Her bottom goes easily onto her heels. She can pull herself up to standing with wallbars. For the first 4 years on G-Therapy she wanted very much to crawl as she said her body needed it. Recently she has been concentrating more on her walking. She tells me that her knees are stretching more than they have ever previously done. She experiences many comfortable cracks in them. We can visibly see the muscles building in them and Laura is telling me that her knees are feeling looser.

We are taking this carefully and slowly, because it has been accompanied by aching. Her knees have been extremely spastic, but I am cautiously optimistic, because we have seen the spasticity go from the right heel. This heel had been so rigid that it had been up about 4 inches when I tried to walk her. It is now generally flat unless tired. I can rotate this previously stiff right foot extremely well and also get an excellent up and down movement with it.

7a) Vision. Laura could be very slow to track with her eyes.
7b) She can now read small road signs when travelling in the car, previously she had been unable to do this. General improvement on focussing on small objects e.g. birds in trees.

8a) Prior to G-Therapy Laura seemed very much less aware of correct positioning for her whole body.
8b) Laura seems to be aware of correct positions for mobility. Her motivation, concentration and co-ordination have all changed for the better.

9a) Education. When Laura had attended junior primary school, she found mathematics almost incomprehensible.
9b) Because there was such a change in my daughter after G-Therapy, we decided to opt for "home education". The Education Authority provided a teacher twice weekly, who told me Laura's maths had become nearly age appropriate. We thought it very advisable for home-education so that she could benefit from an input of therapy, as for the first time in her life she seemed to be so very much more aware of what was needed. I no longer had to encourage her, she wanted to do it. This came from within, this is how she changed on G-Therapy. Her self awareness had changed, she had to have the opportunity to avail of this.

10a) Bathtime. Prior to G-Therapy this has been difficult.
10b) There has been a change recently. Laura sits on a stool in a low level bath, recently she has been able to leave go of the bath handles, she keeps holding her arms out in front of her. Before I was constantly having to touch her for support.

Laura Swimming.

Before 6 Months in 1997	After 6 Months in 1997

11a) Startle Reflex and Spasticity in teens. Both of these were severe prior to G-Therapy.
11b) We wish that Laura had had the chance to try G-Therapy from the age of 18 months or even earlier. We feel the progress would have been quicker. But we are so happy to report that changes have been continuous through her teens. Her startle reflex has almost completely vanished. She tells me daily the spasticity in her knees is loosening. She feels them stretching and aching behind.

Laura now tells me that she can now feel where her spasticity is, that prior to G-Therapy she couldn't as it always stayed the same. She tells me that the crawling (totally impossible before G-Therapy), seems to have rid her body of most of the spasticity, it had been all over. Now she feels it mostly in the knees and it annoys her! She says she can feel her knees becoming looser, and she is 17 !

She experiences extra high tone when localised changes are happening. This can and has lasted various periods of weeks, and has been our most difficult time, often associated with wet hands and feet. After this has passed, she usually has an influx of new feelings or sensations, an awareness of something that has changed. This is currently happening in the knees. Laura tells me that a high tone period, ( in the early days it concerned me), is due to tiredness due to the changes taking place. She tells me that this high tone period is actually doing something beneficial, that it is stretching something. She says that it is not the same as spasticity as that never changed, therefore it has been well worth continuing with G-Therapy through her teens, because we have noticed a very regular pattern and the progress continues. Other than these high tone periods and the odd aches, Laura has had no bad effects from G-Therapy. Laura' spine has had many comfortable cracks as has the rest of her body. These cracks also seem to help her spasticity to ease. They make her feel much more comfortable and she no longer twists at the hips in the buttocks when in the Kaye-walker. The cracking in various joints has been a positive sign of change taking place.

I conclude in saying that Laura's changes have been global, and certainly seem to continue. These sustained changes have led to a much improved quality of life. The results have been more positive and hopeful than any other therapy we tried. Laura has had no detrimental side-effects.

We continue with hope down this road,

Val (Laura's mother)
val@zigheds5.freeserve.co.uk
www.zigheds5.freeserve.co.uk

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Laura's mail to Dr. Oswal:

G-Therapy has helped me in a way that no other treatment has been able to do, because now I know the correct movements, whereas before I really didn't know how to put my limbs in the right positions, even if I did know how to do things my body was far to stiff to be able learn anything. Sometimes I feel like G-therapy has re-programmed my brain, in order for it to function properly. At the moment my knees are showing very promising signs of improvement I can feel both knees stretching at the front and mainly at the back and they are cracking everyday. Which I think is very beneficial for getting rid of the tightness in my knees completely.

I used to crawl nearly everyday, to stop me getting stiff, now I've got past that stage and walk instead with the aid of a Kaye-walker. It took me a long time before I felt I was ready to walk. The crawling was vital for loosening my hips and building up the muscles all over my body. My knees are the tightest part of me so I have to take it slowly so that they don't ache too much, but even if they do ache I know from the feel of them it will help them in the long term. Ever since the first day on G-therapy I've been changing for the better, and because of this I am very grateful to Dr Oswal for all his help.

Laura Zighed