My Story

Hi, my name is Cameron and I was born on September 18th, 2003.  I am a very outgoing, active little boy who thoroughly enjoys music, any physical activity and playing with matchbox cars.  My nickname is Cam.

I have Cerebral Palsy as a result of suspected meningitis that I had when I was just 1 week of age.  I had 12 spinal taps but by the time fluid was obtained I was already on the antibiotic treatment for meningitis so we will never truly know if I did have meningitis or not.  I also have asthma and severe food allergies.

When I initially got sick at 1 week of age and needed to be ventilated, my Mommy and DaDa were told by a neurologist that I would have no functionality and they should have never allowed a ventilator to be placed.  This neurologist gave my parents no hope and yet I made a complete recovery (well appeared to) and I was discharged after 3 weeks in the hospital.  Mommy and DaDa were told other than a seizure disorder I was perfectly fine.  When I started to have suspicious behavior at 7 weeks of age I was admitted to a different hospital, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, and I was assigned Dr. Nishant Shah as my Neurologist.  Dr. Shah had an MRI performed and it was then that he discovered that I had extensive brain damage as a result of the infection that I had as a newborn and possibly Cerebral Palsy.  When Dr. Shah delivered the news to my parents he was extremely compassionate and provided them with hope.  They asked if I would ever walk, talk, etc.  Dr. Shah told them that he could not answer those questions but he could tell them one important thing.  He told them “The day you say Cameron will never do something, he never will.”  He urged Mommy and DaDa to get me into therapy immediately because although my brain damage could not be repaired, I could maximize my healthy areas of my brain to compensate for the damaged areas.  Dr. Shah’s message of hope is what has driven my family's efforts these past few years.  We have never given up hope and have always worked to help make me the best that I can be.

I hope you enjoy looking at my website.  You will learn all about my family, see a video montage they made of my journey, meet my medical team and learn about the projects my Mommy and DaDa are currently working on to share the important role that "HOPE" has played in my life.