Comedian Maysoon Zayid: Putting a Face on Cerebral Palsy
Maysoon Zayid is a successful comedian and actress. Her TED Talk has over eight million views. For all intents and purposes, she is a typical, thriving entertainer – with one exception. She has cerebral palsy. At the start of her Talk, Zayid addressed her birth injury, explaining how the doctor who delivered her suffocated her in her mother’s womb. Comedian Maysoon Zayid cerebral palsy advocate says “CP is not genetic. It’s not a birth defect. You can’t catch it. It only happens from accidents,” Zayid says, though these accidents are nearly always preventable.
While there is nothing remotely funny about cerebral palsy, Zayid has accepted h er lot in life and used it to her advantage, becoming a disability advocate in the process. Not every person with cerebral palsy has the same experience. Far too often, this devastating birth injury ruins the lives of the children who suffer from it, and the families that love them.
Tragedy in the Delivery Room
Labor and delivery are such exciting moments for a family, especially when you have no reason to believe that your child will be anything but healthy. Having a baby also comes with an undercurrent of worry. Things can and do go wrong in the delivery room. This is not the norm but, when something happens, lives are changed forever.
The most common cause of cerebral palsy in newborns is suffering from lack of oxygen or head trauma during birth or shortly thereafter, as was the case with Zayid. Difficulties or errors that occur during birth are responsible for impossible-to-reverse head trauma that falls solidly into the category of negligence or medical malpractice:
- Obstetricians fail to do a caesarean section soon enough, causing oxygen deprivation.
- Doctors or nurses use vacuum extraction or forceps improperly during delivery.
- Doctors or nurses use excessive force or pressure on the baby’s head or neck during delivery.
- Infections or other medical problems go undiagnosed before delivery.
- Doctors fail to identify a prolapsed umbilical cord.
- Nurses fail to properly monitor fetal distress or maternal distress.
Is it inexperience that allows these awful moments to occur? Overworked doctors? Distracted doctors? Faulty equipment? These are questions every parent of a child with cerebral palsy deserves answers to. It may take a medical malpractice lawsuit to get you the information you want, and the compensation you and your child deserve.
Get Financial Compensation for a Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis
A difficult birth is not the only cause of CP. Risk factors for cerebral palsy include a low birth weight, high birth weight, or premature birth. But these are only risk factors, and they do not indicate that your child will absolutely develop CP.
There is no shame in feeling like the doctor who delivered your baby stole your child’s future and altered your life forever. Certainly, things are never the same again when a baby is born. But no parent expects that new way of life to be complicated even more because of cerebral palsy, nor do they wish for their child to encounter serious hurdles as they mature.
Not every infant with cerebral palsy will prosper like Zayid who is proudly and capably bringing attention to cerebral palsy. Many children with cerebral palsy are saddled with mental disabilities, not just physical ones. If you believe that your child’s future was compromised by medical negligence, you have permission to get angry, and you have the absolute right to take action.
Don’t let any medical professional tell you that your child’s condition could not have been helped. Cerebral palsy is preventable. Contact the experienced Michigan medical malpractice attorneys at Thurswell Law. We are experts in birth injury cases and our case results are proven. Contact us today for your no-cost consultation.
