Jemima's Story - A friendship made for life
In November 2007 Jemima was welcomed into the world weighing just 2lb 13oz. Jemima stayed in neonatal intensive care for 8 weeks inside an incubator as her breathing had deteriorated. Jemima had a brain scan which was when they noticed some abnormalities. At the young age of 6 months, Jemima was then diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.
Just before Jemima’s second birthday, Mum and Jemima found the Rainbow Centre; she came in and smiled at all the staff working here at Rainbow, totally comfortable in her environment and charming all with her smile. She used vocalisation through babbles and facial expressions to communicate needs.
Jemima’s first full session took place on the 6 November 2009 in our Early Intervention group; she joined in with all activities happily and enjoyed her day. This was going to be the start of something new for Jemima.
Jemima, at this stage, was able to lift her head, roll onto both sides and manipulate with her hands with support; she enjoyed flashing and noisy toys and loved shaking shakers.
At the age of 3, Jemima then moved to our Nursery group in April of 2011 where she made friends for life. Jemima met Annabelle, who also attended the same group, and they became quite the team. They worked hard together and along side one another to achieve some amazing things in this group.
As the years went on, Jemima became stronger and stronger and a lot more confident in her movements, walking using a walker and sitting with only close supervision, wearing her arm gaiters for support. Annabelle was always there next to Jemima cheer her on throughout her developmental journey.
Jemima is now able to sit completely independently with only close supervision. She uses her walker with minimal manual support and can communicate her needs and she definitely does! She loves all things girly; nails, hair and chilling out watching YouTube. Jemima is so proud of her achievements and works very hard.
Jemima’s Mum has said: “The Rainbow Centre has had a huge impact of the development of Jemima. It is a safe and welcoming place for children to learn and develop. Through the structure and repetition initially she acquired the basic skills for independent movement and now as an older child she works on these for maintaining her mobility and for independent living. The service has been a lifeline with staff who are highly trained and have the time. commitment, patience, and passion to ensure that all the children have the best opportunities in life. There is always a celebration of what has been achieved each session. The positivity is infectious. Jemima is motivated and proud of herself. We as a family learn to focus on what she can do rather than what she can’t. We feel well looked after and supported on our unique journey as parents and the centre is hugely valued by us”
Now, 12 years later, Jemima attends The Rainbow Centre on a Saturday alongside her friend, Annabelle, and they have the best time together. They are now learning life skills and how to be as independent as possible. Jemima takes pride in her work and absolutely loves to be praised, we are so very proud of her achievements.
