The first time I saw Mohammed Ihsaan Gathoo was on 17 August 2002. He was absolutely terrified, in all ways. I could not look at him, touch him or speak to him. Any attempt in doing so would result in a high-pitched scream.

Mohammed Ihsaan was born on 12 February 2001. He was lying in the transverse position in the womb so needed to be delivered via C-section. His apgar score was 7 out of 10 and he was placed in a neonatal dome in ICU for 3 and a half hours after the birth, after which the doctors said that all was in order. It was only about a year later that his parents realised there was something wrong and he was diagnosed with diplegic cerebral palsy. When he came to me it was very apparent that he needed a lot of support and love, however, my first impression of this fragile and traumatised little boy was that he was incredibly intelligent. I was quite taken aback with his use of vocabulary at his age and his ability to remember so many things. He would repeat words and small sentences and his father told me he was completely smitten with the computer and cell phones. He was, however, not interested in the normal kid stuff for his age (building, drawing, etc) and I expressed my concern to his parents as to the importance of this for his necessary development. I was also informed that he did not sleep very well. He needed to be held most of the night, and subsequently wanted to be fed too. Mohammed Ihsaan “bunny-hops” to get around. He cannot grasp the art of co-ordination and he is always holding his fists very tight when moving around. It’s as if he doesn’t want to let go of something. His left arm and shoulder seem quite locked up. He does not like to use his left arm and battles to hold anything with that hand and to straighten the arm fully. Mohammed Ihsaan was seeing a physiotherapist to start, which he apparently hated, and was also seeing an Occupational Therapist regularly. He was scared of people, fluffy toys and animals.

I felt overwhelmed. The first thought that crossed my mind was how I would treat him if I was not allowed in his space. One thing was clear though and that was the importance of making a connection with this special being and earning his trust, before I could get anywhere. On our third session together, I decided to ask for some universal help to try and break through and was answered with a need to do the OM chant. Luckily his parents knew a bit about the chakras and chanting and were open to this very different approach, so braving my huge fear of feeling stupid, I continued chanting for about 10 – 15 minutes. I could keep better eye contact with him without him reacting, and this was a great sign. I spoke to him telepathically and there seemed to be a break through. As the OM reverberated through the room, I felt a huge shift in his energy. It felt as if a barrier around him had been lifted and by the end of that session, I managed to work a bit on his feet. Working a lot off the body, I could feel that there was a lot of heat around his head, and it seemed squashed in from the sides.

The fourth session was brilliant. Mohammed Ihsaan listened to me and responded to me talking about all sorts of things. He even started smiling at me – this was awesome. The chanting had definitely done the trick. From there, I managed to place my hands over various areas, his chest being one of them. There was a lot of holding here and I always picked up fear. It seemed that he was terrified of the world around him. During this particular session, I held into his chest and felt that he had given me the OK to stay there. Then he started screaming his high-pitched scream and eventually I decided I needed to back off. I was concerned about re-traumatising him and I felt there was a chance I was doing just that. Using the OM chant he eventually calmed down, back to his smiles. I felt that it was possible that this was too much too soon.

Mohammed Ihsaan needed gentleness and especially to be in a safe space. I decided that the most important thing was to build up his trust, even if it took a while, and if that meant working off the body, this is what I would do. He also needed a lot of space and it was my intention to give him that which he needed to help him through these intense feelings of fear. I was very interested in understanding why his fists were always clasped, especially when crawling. I kept wondering what he was so afraid to feel. Whenever he felt the blanket beneath him, he would start to cry and the blanket was a similar texture to the fluffy toys so it instilled the same fear in him. I introduced and encouraged him to play on a drum with open hands. His parents participated in the activities and read books, which was a first for him and we drew pictures. Changing the pencils from hand to hand would also help with his need to learn co-ordination. We built puzzles, played with the ball and really started strengthening our relationship, whilst I still worked off the body. I also noticed that he really responded well to sound and this was amazing as he had been terrified of listening to any kind of music. Starting with his favourite CD, which was a relaxing compilation of music with bells, I started introducing different kinds of music, and he was soon asking for more.

I had the odd session where he was fast asleep. I was able to really get in deep and tried to work with the long tide as long as possible. It didn’t feel like there was enough energy / fluid getting to the head and I was still very aware of this huge tension in his upper body. The energy felt trapped there and I had had a vision of his legs been tied so that he couldn’t break free. It felt as if the different areas of the body were not making a full connection, especially from the head to the lower section of the body so it was one of my aims to get the energy flowing from head to toe and vice versa. He always needed to be held in love and to be emotionally supported.

After a couple of months of treatment, his sleep had improved dramatically and he seemed more confident in himself. He still didn’t want me near his head so I continued working off the body, but concentrated on shifting things in his head. Mohammed Ihsaan went through a phase of touching and wanting to bang his hands against his head, but this passed eventually. His trust with me was strengthening which I was thrilled about and he was full of smiles most of the time. I was still picking up the intense fear within him and there were bouts of anger during some sessions. He would sometimes throw things and went through a session of spitting, but I really felt that this was a way of release, which was necessary. During January 2003, I noticed a change in the way Mohammed Ihsaan was with me. He seemed more open. His parents also commented that he was more receptive and open to other people. He was also able to stand on his haunches, and seemed more interactive. He also started taking more interest in my birds, wanting to get closer to them. Mohammed Ihsaan had taken a huge interest in cricket which I thought was excellent. His left arm still felt like there was a heavy weight lying over it and I wondered what the reason for this was.

During one of my subsequent sessions, I felt Mohammed Ihsaan’s intense fear again, but this time I saw an image of someone wearing a white coat, with Mohammed Ihsaan crying frantically. I asked his parents about this and they said that he used to cry whenever he saw one of the doctors. They were all wearing white coats. His parent’s one concern was that he did not cry at all when he was taken away immediately after birth for tests and placed in the incubator with all those tubes. During this particular session, as I was working, Mohammed Ihsaan started screaming, crying and throwing things. I explained to his parents the importance of allowing him to “let it out”, but sending him love and support whilst he was doing so. I had another subsequent session where we worked whilst listening to chanting from a CD. He really responded to this and tried to imitate the sounds he was hearing.

From the time that Mohammed Ihsaan had first started coming, I worked weekly with him. He was progressing so well, that from March 2003, it was decided that I would see him every second week. At the end of March 2003, Mohammed Ihsaan’s sister was born and this presented a new change at home, which he seemed to handle quite well. The next couple of treatments were roughly the same, with his head needing more work, as well as his chest and upper back. There had been no major change and it reached a point that during one session I started wondering whether I was making a difference. It started to feel as if he was pushing me away and not wanting me to help him anymore. I reached a point where I decided I might have to end our sessions, but at the start of our next session together, Mohammed Ihsaan came and sat right next to me, kept looking up to me as if he knew what was on my mind, as if to say, please don’t leave me. He made up my mind for me and we continued treatment. I kept sending him lots of love and worked with him, off and sometimes on the body, for as long as he allowed me.

Mohammed Ihsaan started horse riding, which I was very happy about, as I had heard it was excellent for kids with cerebral palsy. Even though he cried through most sessions, he was gaining more confidence with horses and I am sure in himself. Then around the middle of August, roughly a year since I had started treating Mohammed Ihsaan, there was an amazing break through. I was able to work on his body for the entire session without him complaining, crying or screaming. He readily accepted my hands anywhere on his body. Then to top it all off, when leaving I asked him for a hug, which I had done many times before and was refused, and he reached out to me and we hugged for minutes before his Dad asked whether they could go home. I had never felt so overwhelmed with joy and happiness as I did at that particular moment. I could feel such incredible love and gratitude from him and I even got a thank you from him, without being prompted by his parents. I was on seventh heaven and grinning from ear to ear.

Sessions after that were good and bad. I was allowed to work on his body most of the time, with certain places still invoking a push away. The front of his head is still an area where I feel there needs much more work, but we will get there. He has had releases on his left and even more opening of his hands. He can now sit and open his hands fully when not crawling, and he is able to crawl one leg at a time when really concentrating and not being asked to do more than one thing at a time. He is also put into a standing frame for a period of time every day at home and still does his some of his physio exercises with his mom and dad. He still needs more work on his balance and generally has a long way to go, but we have made progress and still will. His mom and I both agree that it is his intense fear and lack of confidence that we feel is holding him back, but I know that one day he will muster up all his courage and take his first steps on his own. One day he will have enough trust and faith in himself, and in the world around him.

I had the sub-editor of Your Baby contact me last year about writing an article on Craniosacral Therapy. She asked for a number of one of my clients and I gave her Mohammed Ihsaan’s fathers details. This is what he had to say, as quoted from the January/February 2004 edition of Your Baby:

“Mohammed and Farhana Gathoo’s son, Mohammed Ihsaan, suffers from cerebral palsy, and has been receiving craniosacral therapy for a year now. Mohammed says: “Ihsaan is basically a spastic diplegic, which means he has no use of his legs, with little control over his arms. We’ve found craniosacral therapy to be much more effective than standard therapies. He had been seeing an occupational therapist and physiotherapist every week, but his progress was very slow, and this picked up tremendously with CST. He wouldn’t sleep properly at night but as soon as he had CST, his sleep patterns improved. It’s also made him more confident and shifted his fear, so now he’s physically moving a lot on his own, and can stand up against things. He was also very fearful and hated furry toys, but now he plays with them. He still has a long way to go, but has definitely shown a big improvement.”

Since this information was captured, Mohammed Ihsaan has also overcome his fear of animals.

Being there for Mohammed Ihsaan and his parents has been a huge blessing for me. I once asked them what he is teaching them and they both replied with a definite answer of “PATIENCE”. He has been teaching me so much and one of the main things is to never give up. I had my moments when I have felt that I could not get through anymore. I had my moments of feeling helpless, like I was getting nowhere, but then I would reflect on the amazing progress all round. He is a completely different person from when I first saw him and he continues to grow and show me that miracles can happen.