My Favourite Links
Today's Parent Online
A Global Community of Disability Related Resources
The Hospital For Sick Children Homepage
Information on Cecostomy Tubes...Check it Out and Spread the Word!
Here are some FAMILY PHOTOS that you can check out. Be scared...be very very scared. LOL
Also see our newer family pets photos by following the cat link graphic below.
OUR PETS PAGE - CLICK ON KITTY!
Thanks Alta, for the award! You are tres cool!
IN BRITTANY'S LIFE!! *** 09/25/03 *** FINALLY!! I had not been able to gain access for SOME time here - lost my password info, go figure. So NOW I'M BACK and will be updating soon!!
My apologies to anyone who has emailed etc, as I would not have received it, but now can get into that account. Feel free to email again!! :)
Bowel Obstruction...summer 2000 (Updated Jan 2001)
Read about her latest hospital visit, another summer scare.
Another survivor found in the states...check her out!
Visit my friends pages and their families!
Link to us from your page to help raise awareness on CDS and Cecostomy Tubes!
A thank-you to all my support group and the story of our latest scare...May 27/00
Brittany now has a new page dedicated to her birth story...and is kept company by the one and only Pooh Bear! Click on Pooh to go there now!
NEW!! Click on horse button below to see Brittany on her therapeutic pony !! Learn about therapeutic riding for special needs kids.
MY BEAUTIFUL BABY DOLL!
Five years of age, summer 1999
Welcome to Brittany's page. This is the story of her trials and triumphs that she has dealt with in her short 6 years of life...having being born with a birth defect so rare that hardly any doctors we have encountered yet had heard about it.
It's called by many names though...depending on who has written about it, and what country or background they are from. The one we were given is Caudal Duplication Syndrome (CDS). I can also be known as Dipygus, Pygomelous, Imcomplete Twinning, or Parasitic Twinning. The main feature of this difference is quite obvious when a child is born...the attachment of 1-3 extra legs. Usually, there is 2 extra legs, as was Brittany's case.
Our search to find a survivor has been long, hard, and fruitless. There are only 9 other photo documented cases that were surgically treated, in world history of medicine, and 2 non documented cases back in the late 1800's. Interestingly, I have found several cases that were never documented, as they were never medically treated. Instead, they led their whole lives as very successful sideshow freaks. Admittingly, I was origionally upset because I could not find info anywhere on the net about dd's birth defect, except for sideshow pages. Until I delved a little deeper into understanding what a being a sideshow was all about. A very proud and interesting group of people!
As an after note, we are still searching for survivors of this condition, and we are unsure of how many of these children are still alive. If you would like any more information, or have any questions, please contact me at my email address below.
UPDATE: There is a beautiful little girl in the States who recently had a third leg removed, and we are hoping to contact her surgeons and caregivers...I will update as this progresses!
To see a picture and a diagram of this little girl...click HERE to view. She is a cutie!
She has also had a very new procedure to deal with her incontinence caused by an imperforate anus, called a Cecostomy Tube. This was engineered at Sick Kids in Toronto, Canada, by a very talented doctor...Dr. Chait, and is being taught to other hospitals as a way of helping them stay accident free every day. Contact me if you are interested in how this works and I will try to put you in touch with the people you will need to talk to. For more details, click on the Medical Logo below.
This is my first attempt at a homepage, so bear with it! I'll be adding more info to it soon. A huge thanks to all my family and friends who have been there for us from the first, and to everyone who has always respected our privacy. I would also like to thank all of my cyber friends from TP Online for all of the great ongoing support for our family. You guys bring me to tears sometimes!!
For more tributes and thanks...click on the angel below
Everyone who has touched our lives is an Angel!
Sometimes you need extra financial assistance and just don't know where to turn. Most people know about Easter Seals...what a lot of people don't know is the Government funded programs available. I've been one of those parents who desparately needed extra help with diaper needs when Brittany needed a constant supply when she was younger. What I didn't know is that there was help out there for me. Now, we live in Ontario, Canada, so please bear in mind that this may not apply to everyone...I'm not sure if it's Canada wide or not.
The first program you should know about is Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities (ASCD). It was formerly known as Children's Handicap Benefit. This is a branch of Social Services in Ontario, and may be available to you if you qualify. This program helps us with trips to Sick Kids, incontinence supplies, overnight stays due to tests or surgeries, and will help with special learning tools, extra laundry costs, and other disability related costs. Contact them at 1(613)536-7312. Toll free at 1(800)267-0236, ext 4515. This is a monthly benefit, and must be reviewed once a year.
The second resource you should know about is ADP, or Assistive Devices Program. If your child is incontinent, or needs enema supplies, or ostomy supplies..they will cover 75% of the cost, paid in accordance to the childs age, twice a year. Please bear with me while I find the number, or contact your local Social Services Office to inquire.
Easter Seals deals with a lot of issues for children...give them a call at 1(888)667-0043. It is a voluntary provincial agency which raises funds to provide services for children/adolescents with physical disabilities. To ask for financial assistance, or to find out how to make a donation of money or equipment to help children in need, call them at the above number.
Want to visit my friends? Click on the graphic below to visit the webpages of my very dear friends online...they are definately worth visiting!
WEB RINGS I BELONG TO...
Guestbook provided by DREAMBOOK...visit them at
http://www.dreambook.com
My Guestbook!
