A CHESTER girl with an hereditary condition has benefited hugely from a course of treatment at a centre in Oswestry.

Jasmine Lewis-Palmer, seven, was born with HSP (hereditary spastic paraparesis), although was not diagnosed until she was about two.

The youngster recently completed a course of specific physiotherapy at The Movement Centre in Oswestry, which mum Joanne Lewis says is fantastic.

She explains: “HSP is a cerebral palsy-type condition which affects the lower limbs. Jasmine can’t walk without help, has poor muscle tone and weak balance.

“It’s the sort of condition that only became apparent when I noticed a delay in her development. Jasmine didn’t stand up when most babies do and when she did her posture was unusual.”

Jasmine, who attends Overleigh St Mary’s CE Primary School in Handbridge, where she receives one to one support, has had eight weeks of treatment at the centre to strengthen her muscles.

Joanne said: “It’s very specific physiotherapy and all the equipment there keeps Jasmine safe and secure while she works on exercises to strengthen her weak pelvic area.

“If Jasmine can stand a bit straighter, she has less pain in her back which makes a world of difference to her life.”

Jasmine’s dad Mark Palmer was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, which is not an hereditary condition, when he was a child. It was only when Jasmine received her diagnosis that doctors realised that he also had the condition. Jasmine’s brother Zack, three, has also since been diagnosed with HSP.

Joanne added: “There is a 50:50 chance that I would have a baby with the condition and I was pregnant with Zack when Jasmine was finally diagnosed.”

The Movement Centre is an independent not-for-profit specialist physiotherapy centre dedicated to helping children with cerebral palsy and related problems of movement control. The centre is not Government funded and most children are referred by their paediatrician.

The centre is hosting a fundraising ball at the Doubletree Hilton in Hoole tomorrow (Friday).

Tickets are £60 from Mercer and Associates on 01244 394203.