Children in Distress - Easy does it, as Izabela masters her spoon and makes incredible progress

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Easy does it, as Izabela masters her spoon and makes incredible progress

Izabela spoon in hand

Over the last couple of weeks, the medical & care teams at St Andrew’s have continuously worked with Izabela to teach her to eat by herself. At each meal, she has been encouraged to grasp the spoon, sip slowly her soup or spoon other delicious food, in a confident yet unhurried way, so that she could gain confidence and get better at self-feeding. For most children, learning how to eat is second nature but in Izabela’s case, where each move is a challenge, it becomes the equivalent of a running a marathon, given her severe Neuromotor problems can make things doubly difficult. Nevertheless, it seems that no matter the challenges, Izabela has risen to the occasion and she is determined to gain some level of independence.

All the hard work recently paid dividends as Izabela has finally learnt how to hold a spoon and to eat by herself without even the least help from her friends and carers. She has her moments, though, when uncoordinated moves make things seem just too difficult that she drops the spoon, but it does not matter. A new and clean one is handed to her and she confidently picks up where she left, not sweating the small stuff. All the St Andrew’s care team are incredibly proud of Izabela and they are positive she will continue to make progress and surprise them all with her newfound independence.