Sebastian, who is eight years old, is a twin. His sister is healthy and develops ‘normally’, whereas Sebastian was born with a benign brain tumour called hypothalamic hamartoma. This type of tumour causes severe epilepsy, precocious puberty, behavioural disturbance and severe mental retardation. Due to the frequency of Sebastian’s epileptic fits ( up to 80 a day until the age of four) a decision was made to perform a difficult operation to remove the tumour. Unfortunately, the operation was a fiasco in that only a small part of the tumour has been removed and Sebastian suffered a stroke which resulted in a left-side hemiplegia. His eyesight has been damaged in the left eye due to the stroke and considerable damage was done to the optic nerve in the right eye.

After the operation, on top the existing problems, Sebastian acquired a physical handicap: his left hand, previously fully operational, remained paralysed and his left leg recovered only partially and therefore he could walk only with a splint and a heavy limp.

Needless to say, from the beginning we have been trying to improve Sebastian’s quality of life. We put him through many alternative therapies since conventional medicine had nothing to offer. We have tried the Chinese herbs, cranial osteopathy, Steve Clark’s spinal massage, Light and Sound Therapy, not to mention special diets and behavioural management.

Through continuous scanning of medical news via press and the Internet, last year we came across the article in the Daily Mail about G-Therapy. Sebastian started it on 7th August 1990. Although normally sedated for the night by his medication, Sebastian managed to wake up the first night after taking Dr. Oswal’s pills. From 1 am to 3 am he was gurgling and babbling happily, then to our amazement, he said “bye bye” and promptly fell asleep.

For the next six weeks or so we could not see any dramatic changes, although during that time Sebastian’s physiotherapist wrote to us that Sebastian’s physiotherapist wrote to us that Sebastian’s paralysed hand had a change in muscle tone for the better.

Around the end of October Sebastian started getting very interested in his left hand and stopped being very protective towards it. We could hold it without him protesting and he started pinching and shifting it with his good hand as if chivvying it to move again. When he lifted his hand himself whilst sitting at the table with a big and strong movement and positioned it around his plate we could not believe our eyes.

For the past six months there has been a noticeable improvement in his left hand. Not only does he lift it to order (which he enjoys and is proud of) but he puts a new skill into practice: putting his hand into his sleeve, shifting it while changing positions or even sometimes trying to use it as a propping device. Also his little and index fingers started extending to a good stretch which is an inexplicable thing considering Sebastian has lost the fine motor movements.

His walk has also improved and the limp is less obvious than before.

The behavioural side is more difficult to judge considering the severity of Sebastian’s mental disability. However, it is fair to say that the school, as well as the family, have noticed the following improvements:

• less hyperactivity
• better response to commands
• more babbling and vocalising
• a much happier demeanour and
• a general aura of being more “with it’.

Due to Sebastian’s autistic features he has always been heavily reliant on routine. He never accepted going to new places so visiting friends of family was off our schedule. A trip to the local shops always ended up on the floor with goods being thrown around and a great deal of scratching and pinching. He only tolerated open spaces e.g. the street or parks. He has always had a daily walk after school, the only recreational activity in his life (as he does not know how to occupy himself), and any change in his daily route (for the past five years or so) would inevitably end with a big tantrum.

Since December time we have started gently introducing slight variations in his walk and they went down very well with only occasional upsets which were easily calmed with a favourite cake. No such diplomatic exchange was possible before.

Yesterday, 13th February, was the biggest piece de resistance ever! When we went to fetch Sebastian’s siblings from the sleep-over party (in a block of flats) he quite happily climbed the stairs and walked through the threshold without any resistance. After pacing the flat in a peaceful manner he sat in the chair and happily started looking around. Our visit lasted about 45 minutes and we were speechless and amazed. We have never ever seen Sebastian being so “normal” in an unknown place with strangers.

Sebastian’s epilepsy has always been unpredictable in terms of frequency and intensity and we cannot fully comment on it yet as new medication has recently been introduced. Fair to say that for the first time in his life he can be fit – free for a few days in a row.

It has taken us six months to give this G-Therapy account due to the complexity of Sebastian’s problems (which cannot all be rectified), and also we wanted to be sure of the accuracy of our observations. No good giving false impressions to other hope-starved parents without having tangible results.

So far brilliant! Half-term is looming and we are yet to go to the shoe shop to get new trainers which normally is a traumatic experience for all.

We’ll keep you posted!!

Anna Selo

* Sebastian continues to improve.