Tong Yong T., 16

Tong Yong is a 16-year-old boy in the 7th grade. He faced the challenges of being born prematurely and has been living with cerebral palsy (CP) since birth. He lives with his parents, who are vegetable sellers, if they manage to avoid poor crop. He has one younger brother, who is in grade 6. Tong Yong aspires to become a teacher in the future. Due to his CP, he lives with a condition called Equinus that affects his ability to walk normally.

Individuals with cerebral palsy often have weakened Achilles tendons, so Tong Yong and his parents traveled one and a half hours to get specialty surgery for his legs. This included a procedure to lengthen the muscles that didn't allow him to walk normally. He spent several days in the hospital with a cast to aid in immobilization, and his mother worked with the physiotherapy team to learn rehabilitative exercises to initiate three weeks post-operatively. His casts will be changed every four-six weeks, and he will need an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) to control the range of motion in his foot and ankle and help to stabilise its position. It may take up to a year for Tong Yong to walk without assistance, but his parents have hope that he will no longer have pain, and may be able to walk unassisted in the near future. They wish for him to have a good quality of life and find a job soon despite his disability.

Tong Yong's cerebral palsy (CP) stems from a brain injury during early development. This deformity primarily results from the contracture of his gastrocsoleus muscle, marked by excessive ankle plantar flexion, particularly in the stance phase. Someone with equinus lacks the flexibility to bring the top of the foot toward the front of the leg in both feet. Surgery may be required to release these tissues in a manner that allows restoration of normal ankle/foot upward motion (dorsiflexion). Fixed contractures need surgical correction.