Kelly and Ivan Rosbotham, of Accrington, Lancs, spoke to Cavendish Press to tell how their son Finley was born with almost half his brain missing yet has incredibly defied doctors’ to take his first steps with the help of his active little sister, and his favourite Thomas the Tank Engine toy. Finley and twin sister Ellie were born seven minutes apart at 34 weeks in June 2009  but just a few months later Kelly and husband Ivan noticed that Finley wasn’t developing the same as Ellie, as he was unresponsive down one side, had a rag-doll like posture and was not smiling like his lively sister.  After asking their health consultant for advice, the couple were referred to a physical therapist who was concerned that Finley had a rare form of cerebral palsy known as hemitaresis, a neurological condition which weakens one side of the body, and recommended an MRI scan. The scan revealed that a large part of the left side of Finley’s brain was missing and his devastated parents were warned that their son was highly unlikely to ever be able to walk or even crawl. But, determined not to give up Kelly and Ivan set about researching their son’s condition and learned that if they worked hard with Finley they could train other parts of his brain to adopt the functions of the missing sections. Kelly and Ivan set about doing home therapy sessions with special exercises and games for Finley, to stimulate his brain, and began taking him to a child development centre where physio and occupational therapists used a specialised play centre to supplement their work. They spent twenty months gradually building up Finley's ability to use the right side of his brain to control both sides of his body by urging him to move around and play with his twin sister and after five months of hard work, mum Kelly was thrilled when Finley finally moved his head in response to Ellie who was playing noisily across the room. Since then he has gone from strength to strength - after months spent chasing Ellie and his beloved blue and white motorised Thomas the Tank Engine train around their playroom, Finley slowly learned to crawl and, now aged two, he has recently astounded doctors by taking his first ever steps. Now his delighted parents are keen to tell others not to give up hope and are looking forward to a brighter future for their son. Their heartwarming story went in Take A Break magazine.

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