If your child is diagnosed with cerebral palsy, you’ll probably be facing a lot of stress and won’t know quite what you should do about it. Part of handling this situation the right way means taking care of yourself, first. You’ll have to be able to cope with what you’re about to face and, in some regards, what you’re about to face will be very challenging.
First, you’re going to want to make certain that you get all of the information you can from your physician. It’s likely that your physician will not know right away how extensive the brain damage your child suffered really is. Sophisticated scanning technology, better laboratory technologies and generally more knowledge about the human body, however, mean that physicians will be able to give you much more information than they would have been able to give you in the past.
Talk to an Expert
Not all doctors are experts in cerebral palsy. The doctor that diagnoses your child can likely send you to a specialist that will be able to let you know what to expect and what level of care your child is likely to need. It won’t immediately be apparent whether or not your child needs a great deal of care, in some instances, because they won’t have begun to use their fine motor skills yet and they obviously won’t be speaking for some time. The doctor, however, can prepare you for what’s ahead.
Talk to a Support Organization
Where taking care of yourself is concerned, knowledge is usually the best thing to pursue. Read up on cerebral palsy. There are many different organizations out there that help people cope with cerebral palsy. United Cerebral Palsy is one of the most well-known of these organizations. They may be able to help you deal with the issues you’re going to face by providing you with access to a network of people who face the same challenges that you do every day and who have found ways to overcome them.
State and local providers for people with disabilities may also be able to offer assistance, and many support groups you can find in your area may be able to provide you with additional resources for support.
Talk to an Attorney
The treatment of cerebral palsy can be very expensive. A cerebral palsy lawyer may be able to help you put together a lawsuit if a doctor, nurse or healthcare facility was negligent in their delivery of care for you and your infant. If this is the case, the lawyer can sometimes negotiate a settlement with the defendant, as well, which can result in a considerable amount of money for the plaintiff. It will depend, however, upon the strength of the case and, if it goes to court, the jury to determine whether or not you receive any money.
A cerebral palsy lawyer will need to determine how long you actually have to sue and, because of that, it’s best to get in touch with them right away. You may not have long to wait. If you just want information, most lawyers will sit down with you for a free consultation where they’ll explain your options free of charge.