THIS WEEK IN 1984: Give me the facts says worried mum

A young Leigh Park mother with two disabled children was fighting to break down information barriers.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Apr 2018, 06:00 BST
Theresa Paddon with her two children, Lee, 18 months, and Darren, three, at their home in Leigh ParkTheresa Paddon with her two children, Lee, 18 months, and Darren, three, at their home in Leigh Park
Theresa Paddon with her two children, Lee, 18 months, and Darren, three, at their home in Leigh Park

Theresa Paddon, 21, claimed she was thwarted by medical authorities in her efforts to discover the full facts about her children’s conditions.

Her youngest son, Lee, who was born nine weeks prematurely, was eight months old and could not sit up on his own or hold a bottle.

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‘When he was about five months old we noticed he was not doing the things you normally expect of a baby his age,’ his mother said.

‘At first we were assured it was just laziness and told he was a slow infant.

‘For more than a year we asked for fuller information.’

Mrs Paddon and her husband Stephen, 22, were eventually told Lee had a genetic form of brain damage – mucopolysaccharide.

Tests revealed their middle son Darren – who was just starting to walk two months before his third birthday – did not suffer from the genetic disorder.

‘I’m not trying to lay the blame on anyone I am just trying to discover what is wrong with Lee and what we can do to help him,’ she said.