Freddie Wright

Freddie Wright was just five years old when he collapsed in a school corridor after suffering a severe stroke.

Doctors suspected the aneurysm in his brain might have stemmed from two bouts of chicken pox which may have weakened his immune system.

He was treated on the NHS during his recovery but his parents were convinced his best hope of leading as normal a life as possible was by using private health care.

So Tom and Jacquie Wright turned to PSP, led by neurological specialists, to give their son the best possible chance of enjoying the kind of everyday activities a child deserves.

Jacquie says: “The NHS can only help so much because it has so many demands on its resources but if we’d not had PSP’s help I fear we’d be sat with a child not doing very much.”

“He’ll never be back to 100 per cent where he was, but hopefully he could be somewhere close. With PSP’s help, Freddie has retrained his whole brain, including how to pick up objects which is a very hard task for a child with a brain injury.”

One of Freddie’s biggest challenges has been learning to write with his right-hand – his natural left-handed writing ability having been lost as a result of his stroke.

“You’ve got to do what you need to do – Freddie’s got this chance and we’ve got to take it,” reflected Jacquie.

Freddie, now 10 is doing many things any other 10 year old boy would be doing – he is much more active than he was and is looking forward to taking his place at secondary school. While he does still have some residual brain injury he continues to develop and improve, in no small part thanks to the physiotherapy sessions he receives each week.

Freddie’s treatment now involves Botulinum Toxin injections to his arm and leg along with dynamic lycra splinting for his arm, he also has a rigid splint for his leg.

All of this has helped Freddie to develop into an active boy who is able to move around, lead an active life and in general keep up with all his friends.