Caleb and Jacob Gallant are twins. Despite being were born prematurely at 31 weeks, 6 days, almost 6 years later, the boys are attending school and doing well.
But while both boys are healthy, Caleb was born with cerebral palsy.
Caleb’s father, Jay Gallant says, “We were told at 20 weeks that Caleb was going to have some issues, if he survived at all.”
They were unsure whether or not Caleb would ever be able to walk.
His father says, “Essentially it effects your gross motor skills. For Caleb, it is mainly in your lower body. His brain was telling his feet or calves to flex all the time. So imagine trying to walk when your feet are point like a ballerina.”
Caleb underwent Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy surgery in October at Shriner’s Hospital in Montreal, to help improve his chances of walking. Part of his intense physiotherapy program, was to use a special strength building tricycle.
Gallant says, “The first week, they put him on the bike, it didn’t work. His legs were still a little tight. We waited until the following Monday, and we put him on the bike. From then on, he would wake up in the morning and point, saying bicyclette, bicyclette! He just loved to be on that thing.”
Now that they are home in Dieppe, they’d like to have a tricycle for Caleb, but they come with a very hefty price tag, of up to $6000. The trips back and forth to hospital during the surgery have also taken a financial toll on Jay and Chantal Gallant.
Friends of the family are hoping a fundraiser will help bring in the money needed to buy a trike.
It’ll be held this Sunday from 2pm until 6pm at the Moncton Press Club. Tickets are $10 dollars and proceeds will go to the Gallant family, in an effort to help buy a physiotherapy trike for Caleb.
For more information, visit,www.facebook.com/events/391732977640678/
