3-year-old from Hout Bay dreams of walking again

Cape Town - Elijah Cottle, a Hout Bay 3-year-old who was diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a rare condition that left him paralysed from the waist down, dreams of walking again.

According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, AFM is an uncommon but serious neurologic condition.

“It affects the nervous system, specifically the area of the spinal cord called grey matter, which causes the muscles and reflexes in the body to become weak.”

After several months of intense treatment and recovery, Elijah was finally discharged from Christiaan Barnard Hospital in September 2022.

Currently, his rehabilitation schedule is intense, with four day sessions every week consisting of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and hydrotherapy. He also has a caregiver to assist with his needs and transportation to and from therapies. Despite the challenges, his family said Elijah remains determined to recover and regain his mobility.

“Elijah has shown his resilience, strength and bravery throughout this experience. Our gift from God, who loved to run, jump and once believed he could do anything, has been stripped of this and will now learn to adjust to his new quality of life from a wheelchair. We are all learning about the boundless courage it takes to fuel his path to recovery,” his mother, Courtney, said.

With Elijah’s condition showing little improvement, his family began researching other options overseas. They learnt of a procedure called a nerve transfer surgery that has been performed successfully on a boy with similar symptoms in the US and could be Elijah’s best chance at walking again.

However, the family faces significant financial obstacles to get Elijah to the US for a procedure that their medical aid will not cover. They have launched a crowdfunding campaign with a goal of raising R500 000.

To date they have raised more than R260 000, bringing them halfway to their goal.

The family has asked for continued support and donations to help Elijah on his journey to recovery and raise awareness about AFM.

Donations can be made at https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/elijah-cottle

Cape Times