I was abandoned by my mother because of my rare genetic condition – then my baby got brain damaged
A woman who was abandoned by her mother as a baby due to her rare genetic condition has revealed how, in a tragic twist of fate, her son suffered brain damage when he was just 18 months old.
Kaddy Thomas, from Clevedon, North Somerset, who has devoted her life to caring for her son Elijah, appeared on This Morning today to discuss Carers Week in the UK – which started yesterday.
The full-time caregiver was born in 1968 with a rare condition called Apert syndrome. In the first few days of Kaddy’s life, doctors warned her mother that she would never live a normal life.
She explained, “They wouldn’t use this word now, but [doctors told] my mother was told I was going to get serious ******.
“So I think as a 22-year-old from the Gambia it was too much for her to handle, so she left me.”
Apert syndrome, also known as acrocephalosyndactyly, is a genetic disorder that causes fusion of the skull, hands, and feet.
It is characterized by malformations of the skull, face, teeth and limbs and occurs in one in 65,000 to 88,000 births.
In the years that followed, Kaddy lived in numerous foster homes across the UK for children with special needs.
She explained: ‘I grew up in children’s homes with children with other learning difficulties until the age of nine, but they soon discovered that I was quite good mentally.
“So I came into the care of Birmingham Children’s Social Services and was about to be adopted, but that fell through, so I became a foster family for a few years and then I went back into care.”
Kaddy had some unstable teenage years, but she says being encouraged to care for others in her local community changed her life.
She said, “If you grew up in a home, even though you have clothes on your back, food in your stomach and a roof over your head, you don’t get the love and security you would normally get if you lived in a orphanage would have grown up. a family unit.’
In 2016, Kaddy welcomed her son Elijah, who was born with the same condition.
Kaddy Thomas, who revealed her son suffered brain damage after routine surgery when he was 18 months old, highlighted the vital work of unpaid carers
Kaddy, who has devoted her life to caring for her son Elijah (pictured), discussed why she wants carers to feel supported as part of Carers Week
But when he was 18 months old, he tragically suffered brain damage during a routine surgery where surgeons discovered he had an undiagnosed infection – meaning he now needs constant care.
Kaddy explained how her “life turned upside down,” saying, “He went from a young boy who was crawling, eating and going to the nursery, dancing to music to a kid who then became motionless, I didn’t recognize him.”
Kaddy has since said that day ‘no two days are the same’ and her life and his are forever changed.
She said, “You can plan to go to the zoo or the park, and then all of a sudden he can have an epileptic fit that completely changes the dynamic of how our day is going to go.”
“And depending on what happens with that attack, it depends on whether we go to the hospital or not.
“He is at Bristol Children’s Hospital today and Sunday evening and today he had several seizures that required emergency medication. But you know he’s strong, determined, and resilient, kind of like me, actually.
Her son Elijah was also born with the condition in 2016, but things got more difficult when he suffered brain damage after routine surgery at 18 months, meaning he now needs round-the-clock care
At the age of one, she was abandoned by her mother because she was born with Apert syndrome
Kaddy now supports other carers to give them the support and confidence they need to keep going.
She wants to highlight the work that the UK’s 5.7 million unpaid carers do.
Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of care, highlight the challenges faced by unpaid carers and recognize the contribution they make to families and communities across the UK.
It also helps people who don’t think they have caring responsibilities identify as carers and access much-needed support.
A carer is someone who cares for a family member or friend who has a disability, mental or physical illness, addiction or who needs extra help as they get older.