The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Mum battles for disabled son’ s future
The mother of a toddler with severe disabilities says her “life is on hold” as she has had to give up her education and rely on donations to pay for her son’s physiotherapy.
Marta Andreeva’s son Ben suffered brain damage after he was delivered by emergency caesarean at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee in August 2019.
Now almost three, Ben has quadriplegic cerebral palsy – he cannot walk, has little or no control of his arms and legs and is blind.
Ms Andreeva, 38, who lives in Stobswell and is from Bulgaria, has had to give up her civil engineering studies at Dundee University to take care of her son.
She said despite having a normal pregnancy, things took a turn for the worse when complications were discovered a week before her due date.
The umbilical cord was wrapped twice around Ben’s neck and doctors carried out an emergency C-section.
Ms Andreeva disagrees with decisions that were made during the birth and complained to NHS Tayside.
A complaint has also been made to the Scottish public services ombudsman.
She took Ben back to Bulgaria, where she was told he has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, later confirmed by doctors in Dundee.
Bulgarian doctors advised Ms Andreeva the infant would need daily physiotherapy and there are centres in Germany and America which could help but which she could not afford.
Ms Andreeva set up an online crowdfunder and raised £25,000.
She found a therapist in Edinburgh who treats Ben regularly but this has used up all of the money raised.
Ms Andreeva has been working as a delivery driver at evenings and weekends but does not earn enough to cover the cost of therapy.
She believes the treatment is stopping
Ben’s condition from getting worse.
Ms Andreeva said: “The struggle is I can see Ben will need therapy his whole life.”
She added: “The system here is trying to convince me that he’ll be like this all his life and I feel like they are saying there is no point of much (of the) therapy.
“But I want to fight for his wellbeing and I hope that one day I will see results. He is a happy little boy but he can do so little and his life is so limited.
“My life is also on hold and I feel exhausted and overwhelmed all the time.”
She added; “I just want a better future for him.
“I am feeling overwhelmed at not getting help and I also want to point out how difficult life is for mums with disabled children. Unfortunately many of us need to rely on charity and help from family and friends.”
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said a physiotherapy team member would be in touch with Ms Andreeva.