Adventurer Zac Oatley
My name is Zac Oatley. I was born at 25 weeks, 15 weeks premature. The reason for my early entry into this world was because of my identical twin brother Dylan James, he needed to be born and I guess that meant so did i. I feel I am lucky as my brother did not make it home and passed away at 112 days in the hospital. During my birth and delivery, I suffered from a lack of oxygen to my brain. This caused me to have a severe physical disability Cerebral Palsy Quadraplegia dystonic which affects my speech muscles and limits my mobility.
When I am not at school you will find me getting up to as much mischief as my equipment will allow me too. This includes but is not limited to my favorites, my wheelchair, beach buggy, stand frame and walking frame. I love the beach, hanging with my family, my peers, using my eye gaze and anything that involves "the rougher the better"-like 4wding, surfing (yup I can do that!) having my beach buggy smash waves in the surf. I also have this current fascination with using my electric wheelchair to open the electronic doors at my local shopping center for everyone- this makes me feel good and is a token for me to give back to my awesome community of Yamba.
My family describes me as a cheeky bugger......i know what you are saying, but I am just not that good at responding to you. My eye gaze has definitely helped me through. (check out the article https://research.cerebralpalsy.org.au/about-cerebral-palsy/interventions-and-therapies/eye-gaze-technology-for-children-and-adults-with-cerebral-palsy/ )
Why support my go fund me page? The answer is simple really. Doing It for mum and dad, see I am not as little as I used to be. I am now nearly as tall as mum and this is starting to make it hard for her to lift and move me. To top it off just around my 11th birthday (July) I am going in for some pretty huge surgery. I am having an operation which requires them to cut my femurs (bone) and rotate them in the correct position and put metal and screws in me. They are also going to release my hamstrings so my legs will straighten. This is going to be awesome because after 10 years I can finally straighten my legs (yay!!). But what does mean is that recovery is going to suck. Mum and dad are going to need an extra "hand and lift" when it comes to my recovery and getting me bathed, clothed, fed and moved around.
We are fundraising for equipment recommended to assist us to ensure a safe and comfortable recovery at home. This recovery will be around 6-8 weeks. An important piece of equipment recommended to us was a high-low lift bed. Ongoing costs surrounding my surgery and recovery including physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, and equipment to aid and strengthen my mobility in the future.
I have a fantastic support network of family and friends but unfortunately, my little world does require a lot of expensive equipment. The equipment needed after my surgery will not be covered under NDIS due to the lengthy wait for processing. As I grow many aspects of my equipment need to be changed these include;
* Main wheelchair
*inside activity chair
*Bath chair/Equipment
*Special needs stroller
*Stand frame
*Walker
*eye gaze software
*Cut out tables
*communication switches
*beach wheelchair
*modified Vehicle (car lift)
*hoist and sling
*incontinence aids
*swimming aids
(yes these are the things I need to get through every day)
The last piece of equipment my latest wheelchair took nearly 12 months with mum on the phone every week to make it happen! (there was even a phone call to the local member of parliament ).
Once we reach our goal of a hi-low bed every donation will do towards supporting my growing future by helping us buy the next size equipment or to assist with extra therapy costs.
You can check out my adventures at https://www.facebook.com/pg/Adventurer-Zac-268955663749577/photos/?ref=page_internal
On behalf of mum and dad thanks for your support, your donation and your share of my page.
love Zac xoxo :)