Jeeday’s miraculous progression with Prader-Willi
If there were ever a great example of how National Care Group’s progression model can change lives, it’s Jeeday from our Chosen Care Supported Living service in Gloucestershire.
Jeeday was born with Prader- Willi syndrome, an incredibly rare medical condition affecting around one in 15,000 children within the UK, causing a wide range of physical symptoms as well as learning difficulties and behavioural challenges. However this has not stopped Jeeday proving assumptions wrong that people with his condition need to be institutionalised, and instead has been successfully thriving in a supported living setting to managing to loose over eight stone in bodyweight!
There are many challenges with being born with this condition the most prevalent being insatiable hunger, in the case of Jeeday the condition led him to eat inedible items including shower gel and conditioner. Since moving to Chosen Care in Gloucestershire, our dedicated and passionate colleagues have supported him in leading an active life to help achieve his results; through diet, exercise and 24-hour support. Ultimately Jeeday has been empowered to live a full, happy and more independent life.
Kathy Howitt, registered manager at Chosen Care, said: “We’re incredibly proud of Jeeday and his remarkable journey. When he joined us, he was extremely overweight, due to his condition, and would consume items such as shampoo as he wasn’t able to control his hunger. Our team has worked with Jeeday’s doctors and dieticians to implement a structure that has brought his weight down to 146kg with activities like cycling, gym visits and long walks”.
Due to Jeeday having lost so much weight, he is now awaiting an operation to remove his excess skin. Once the procedure is complete, his next ambitions are to ride a horse and take a holiday to France.
One of the reasons many people living with Prader Willi Syndrome face being institutionalised is the challenge presented by living with others, as food consumption is more difficult to monitor. However, to combat this, colleagues at Chosen Care successfully identified and introduced another person they support as a housemate to Jeeday, which has been a great success.
Chosen Care have made comment on how they have seen significant changes in Jeeday’s quality of life and has been achieving his personal goals of going swimming at his local leisure centre and embarking on days out to Bristol and getting his first tattoo!
James Allen, Chief Executive, said: “Our colleagues always go the extra mile for the people we support, and Jeeday’s incredible success is the perfect example of this. I hope this serves as an example to other support providers of how individuals with a range of complex needs can be given the support they require to unlock their full potential, with the right approach and team, and we can’t wait to see Jeeday continue to thrive”.