5k For 5p- Cri Du Chat Awareness

This year I'm participating in the 5k for 5p- syndrome fun run! I'm looking to raise funds for Ella to continue with her speech pathology, physio and occupational therapy until next year when the NDIS (national disability insurance scheme) starts in my region. My daughter Ella was diagnosed with 5p- when she was 3 weeks old. It is also known as cri du chat, or cats cry syndrome due to their distinctive cat sounding cry. When Ella was diagnosed the prognosis was bleak and I was heartbroken. The specialists told me she would never make eye contact, sit up, crawl, walk, talk or pretty much do anything. With therapy Ella has come so far, she can walk, She's so social and loves babies. But We still have a long way to go! It's so hard as a parent to watch your child struggle. Unfortunately at age 7 Ella is still unable to talk or communicate effectively so we're working closely with a speech pathologist every week to work on that and she's so close! I feel like she's got so much to say and it's heartbreaking not knowing what she wants sometimes. I'd also like to focus on some more occupational therapy for Ella's large and fine motor skills, which is important for so many things and physio, because I'm sure she would love to be able to do all the things other kids her age can do! I know with a combination of speech pathology, physio therapy, occupational therapy and group play Ella will be able to achieve these goals! If I raise enough I would also love to get Ella into another school holiday program with an occupational therapist this year. Unfortunately because NDIS doesn't start in my region until next year, and she aged out of her current provider this year, we've fallen through the cracks of the system for a while and need to pay for everything out of pocket. I hope you can all support Ella and us in any way you can, every little bit will help Ella to reach her goals. ❤️ If you can't donate please consider doing the 5ks to raise awareness! Anyone can join the fun! Upload a picture or status of you walking, running, biking or even swimming 5ks with the hash tag #5pminus5k, #criduchat #Irunforella along with a short fact about cri du chat to raise awareness. Because it's a virtual fun run you can do it anywhere on the 5th of May.