Heartbroken mum says son, 6, has just one Christmas wish - to have friends
A little Scottish lad named Benjamin Briggs, who is just six years old, has a simple Christmas wish - he wants friends.
Benjamin, who has spina bifida and hydrocephalus, loves to play like any other child but struggles to make friends with able-bodied children he meets in the park. His mum, Michaela Morrison, 32, said: "All Benjamin wants for Christmas is to have friends and play like any other child."
She discovered Benjamin's condition at her 20-week scan, which was a shock as there were no disabilities in her family. Michaela said: "I had no idea what spina bifida was but I chose to do nothing. I got given leaflets but I put them all in drawer and never looked at them again. I just decided to go with the flow."
Benjamin is a very social boy according to Michaela (Dave Johnston)Spina bifida is a condition where a baby's spine and spinal cord do not develop properly in the womb, causing a gap in the spine leading to defects in the spinal cord and vertebrae. When Benjamin was born in Edinburgh, Michaela only got to hold him for 10 minutes before he was taken to Edinburgh's sick children's hospital for an operation the next day. He stayed in the hospital for a month and a half after his spine surgery. Once home, Michaela admits the first few months were "stressful" as she had no support.
She said: "The first six months were a bit of a blur. I was just on autopilot." Her main worry in the early days was his head kept growing due to hydrocephalus, excess fluid in the brain. This condition can cause permanent brain damage leading to long-term complications like learning disabilities and physical coordination problems. At about 18 months, he had seven holes drilled in his brain to drain the fluid.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
Benjamin didn't speak for several years but Michaela introduced sign language when he was a year old. Even though he began to speak properly at four, they still use sign language sometimes. However, nursery staff were unwilling to learn sign language so Michaela decided to home-school him. She added: "He has a great vocabulary and now he sometimes corrects me in my speech."
Due to his condition, Benjamin needs a lot of input and repetitive work to learn. Michaela believes schools wouldn't have the time for this, so she's happy to teach him herself. Despite being a social little boy, it breaks his mum's heart when she sees other children ignore him.
She said: "Children don't accept Benjamin for who he is. The lack of understanding from other parents and children is the hardest thing to deal with. I see other children playing at the playground but Benjamin either can't use the equipment or no one tries to speak with him. It breaks my absolute heart.
"He is a normal kid who just wants to play," she added. Now, instead of going to play areas, they go into the woods to listen to the birds or hunt for squirrels because it's less painful. The only place where Benjamin feels completely accepted is at the Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland's Family Groups. However, there are only two a month - one in Rosyth and one in Cumbernauld, which involves a 56-mile round trip, and they only last for two hours each time.
She said: "I can go to these groups and just put him on the floor and he plays with other kids. He thrives there, he's happy and has fun. He never wants to leave to go home. When I tell him we are going he gets so excited. The kids there are so caring, they don't judge." Michaela and Benjamin are urging people to donate to the charity this Christmas to extend the service and help children like him make friends.
Michaela added: "The more money that's raised, the bigger these groups can grow and the more locations there could be across Scotland where we can relax knowing our children are happy, comfortable and accepted." Lawrence Cowan, the boss of Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland, said: "Our mission is to make sure that no one affected by spina bifida and hydrocephalus feels alone.
"There are hundreds of kids with spina bifida and hydrocephalus in Scotland and they all deserve the same chances as their peers. With the right support they can be unstoppable. Every pound raised this Christmas will make sure that brilliant kids like Benjamin have a place where they can make friends and be proud of who they are."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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