Christina’s progress gives hope for people with acquired brain injuries
Today, Christina lives with her mother, Ann-Katrin Berggren, who tirelessly fights for Christina’s right to adequate rehabilitation and legal retribution. In her rehabilitation, the neuromuscular treatment IQoro has had more significance.
It is the Swedish public service TV channel “SVT News” that has met Christina Hedlund and her mother just before Christmas for a follow-up of how her situation is today. The film segment tells about several positive developments.
Four of the doctors involved have finally been sentenced to imprisonment.
– It has been a six year long nightmare, but now four of the doctors involved have finally been sentenced to imprisonment.
Legal retribution and progress in the treatment
Apart from the purely legal retribution, Ann-Katrin and Christina’s speech and language therapist Carina Bouaziz testify about Christina’s progress. The neuromuscular treatment IQoro in combination with other rehabilitation has given results.
– IQoro works very well. It strengthens the muscles in the mouth, the pharynx and in fact even down to the stomach. I notice how Christina participates more and more when we train, says speech and language therapist Carina Bouaziz.
She gets backed up by Ann-Katrin Berggren, who works as a doctor herself.
I have learned what significance this has for people with acquired brain injuries.
– There is generally a big black hole around knowledge of the mouth and the throat’s significance for the rehabilitation of brain damaged persons. I have learned along the way what significance this has for people with acquired brain injuries.
Small progress all the time
She speaks about how the daughter makes small progress all the time. Everything from beginning to swallow by herself and being able to watch TV and communicate.
Christina responds to her mother’s questions with long humming, it is as if she herself has a picture that she actually uses sentences.
– Single words like “yes”, “no” and “mum” have begun to come, says Ann-Katrin.
According to the treating speech and language therapist Carina Bouaziz they are just about to increase the IQoro training to 3 times a day, which is the recommended training amount per day. That in combination with other rehabilitation methods makes the future look brighter than before.
– I hope and believe that this is just the beginning, says Ann-Katrin Berggren to SVT News Skåne.
See the article about Christina (in Swedish) here.