George like most eight year old boys, is a lively and fun loving boy who enjoys rough and tumble play, Winnie the Pooh and Postman Pat. However, until 22 November 2000 George faced challenges which most other eight year olds do not. He had a rare brain lesion called a hypothalamic hamartoma which causes autism and epilepsy.
On this date, he underwent a pioneering operation in Melbourne, Australia to remove this lesion. This has given us huge hope for improvement but may - in the medium term - mean that his behaviour is still a challenge.
The effects of George's condition have been seen in the way that he doesn't play with other children, dislikes changes to his routine or environment and finds communication with others very difficult. He often prefers objects to people and can become 'obsessed' with objects like video cassettes - sometimes, literally, for 24 hours a day. Now that he has undergone treatment which addresses the root cause of his problems - rather than just the symptoms - we are looking forward to a new future for George: even if in the short term, many of his behavioural problems persist as he starts to un-learn and re-learn how he engages with the world.
Throughout George's life, we have searched far and wide for ways to help him and have explored many different possible therapies. Now, having been through the surgery that should at last give him the chances he needs to develop, we are excited but also concerned for obvious reasons. We have set up this website to share our experiences and to enable us to contact other parents whose children may face similar challenges.
We hope that our experience will gives hope to others and some insight into the challenges that we have faced along the way, and those George still faces.
If you would like to read our story from the beginning, click here.
If you would like to read about George's operation and our updates since it took place, start here with the latest and work back.
If you would like to read about the pioneering work in Australia that has enabled George to have this operation, click here.