West Lothian dad with cerebral palsy who suffered stroke as baby realises dream
Jamie Mitchell, 28, was born three months premature alongside his twin brother, Lewis.
The brothers had to stay in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for six months after their birth, with the pair weighing just over one pound each when they were delivered. Jamie explained he ended up with complications that his twin did not have at birth.
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After being let out of the hospital, disaster struck for Jamie and his family when he was blue-lighted to the Sick Kids after he stopped breathing and suffered a stroke in his cot. As a result of his turbulent start in the world, Jamie has lived with cerebral palsy all his life.
But he is proud of the fact that he never let it hold him back, as he pushed himself to keep up with his more physically abled twin and class mates. Fast-forward to today, and Jamie is now living in his hometown with his fiancé Eve and one-year-old daughter Maeva.
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Not only this, but the lab worker is also a Scottish international, who has won over 60 caps for his country and has won a World Championship for Scotland's cerebral palsy team.
'My twin brother and I were born three months premature,' he said. 'I was born one pound two and my brother was one pound four.
'We were in the hospital for six months and after a couple of weeks being at home, I stopped breathing in my cot and suffered a stroke. I got bluelighted to St John's and then the Sick Kids and was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
'My brother never ended up with any of the health issues after our complicated birth, but I did. For as long as I can remember, I've had a disability.
'It was not until I turned four that I was able to walk. Before that my brother would just push me around everywhere in a little red car.
'I'm really lucky as my dad and gran would take me to private physio three to four times a week, where I'd do excessive stretching and muscle building sessions. It really helped my cerebral palsy, especially with my hands and legs.
'It is funny when you are younger, and you see your brother doing all these things at a higher level than you, it did feel unfair. I remember arguing with my dad and grandparents about it, I'd get jealous of my brother playing for better teams when it came to sports.
'But I was never discriminated against or made to feel any different. I obviously knew something was different as I'd get regular operations and have to wear splints, which my brother didn't.
'I'd get more tired than him when we were running about and being a twin you always compare yourself. He was definitely the better footballer then but I am now.
'Teachers and other pupils were great as I was never treated differently and I was one of the better players for our school team despite my disability. I think since I was good at PE I was alright, no one bullied me.'
Jamie explained how the splints and physio helped his cerebral palsy and ensured his arms and legs were not as badly impacted as they could have been. But as he became a teenager, he noticed his coordination was not at the level of his brother or his peers.
Despite his physical difficulties, his dad would never let him use it as an excuse, pushing him to adapt and cope. Something Jamie said he is extremely grateful for.
'When I was younger, I'd struggle to pick things up with my left hand, but my dad would never let me feel down about it or use it as an excuse,' he added. 'You were encouraged to adapt.
'Having an able bodied brother I just wanted to be the exact same. I never wanted my disability to limit me.'
Jamie ended up being noticed when he was playing against his brother's team when they were around 14-years-old. Greg Taylor, who coached his brother and was also the technical director for the cerebral palsy national team, spotted Jamie playing with a limp.
He approached the teen and asked him if he would ever consider trying out for the national side but he was reluctant.
'I wasn't for it at first,' he said. 'But then I showed up and was given a Scotland kit and told to meet the guys.
'I was a 14-year-old entering a team of grown men. But I'd never seen anything like it, all the sessions were planned out and you got a physio with all the equipment, meal plans - it was professional.
'I remember playing with them for the first time and thinking these guys are quality. I got selected to play in Dublin, but it was scary, I'd never left my dad before.
'It improved me so much as a player and it meant a lot to play for Scotland. At high school I wasn't picked for the best teams like my brother and that absolutely killed me.
'Now I'm sitting on 66 caps having scored in the World Championship final and won the tournament for Scotland.'
Jamie said he not only improved as a footballer but he also learned valuable life skills representing his country. He is now looking towards the European Championship later this year but he has argued the cerebral palsy team does not get the support or recognition it deserves.
'It is hard to put into words how much it means to me to play for Scotland,' he said. 'It is my life, my main priorities are my family and my football.
'People don't see the other side of it. I have a weekly routine where I am up early, off to work, being a dad and a husband, but also having to train all the time and follow regimented meal plans.
'It is not something to get into if you are not committed. My wife sometimes jokes when I go off to camp or a competition that I'm away on holiday, but the reality is that if I'm not playing or training, then I'm recovering or sleeping.
'People think we just show up and have a disability kick about but the standard is unbelievably high. I've done things kids our ages dream of, I've captained my country against England and at the Euros, scored a goal in a World Championship final and played in three major finals for my country.
'How many Scots can say that? We must be up there with one of the most successful Scottish football teams in history.
'Although it bothers me, we have to fundraise to represent our country. With our success, why do we have to ask our family, friends and local businesses to support us?
'How is that acceptable? Because we have a disability we are treated differently in my opinion.'
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Despite his own grit and determination taking him to 66 international caps, Jamie is adamant he would not be where he is today if not for the support of his family. He thanked his brother, Lewis, dad, Mark and his late grans Anne and Christine as well as his wife and daughter for sacrificing to help him get where he is today.
'Me and my brother had a rough childhood so it was always me, my dad and my brother and our grans,' he said. 'They all helped me so much.
'Also, if I did not have the partner I have, there is no way I could do this. She is so supportive of me and understands this is something I need to do.
'We know it will end one day as I'm not getting any younger but she thinks while I'm able, she will support it. I owe everything to her and my family.'
Jamie and his teammates will have to raise £1,500 in order to be able to compete at the Euros. To support Jamie's GoFundMe, click here.
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Although penicillin is not produced by Streptomyces, feats in antibiotic production, purifications, and modifications discovered in the research of streptomyces contributed to the processes of penicillin derivatives development. Such derivatives would frequently have superior stability, extended antibacterial spectra, or be able to resist attack by bacterial enzymes that would normally inactivated penicillin. The combination of both fungal-derived and Streptomyces-modelled innovation provided greatly increased amounts of antibiotics in the toolbox of doctors and hospitals all over the world. The core of strepto penicillin like analogs is the four-membered cyclic amide (the beta-lactam monomer) that is essential to the mechanism of their antibacterial agents. This ring enables connection of such bacteria enzymes as penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) to the antibiotic. The assembly of peptidoglycan layer structure of the bacterial cell walls is due to these enzymes. Blocking of PBPs prevents the bacteria to develop a healthy cell wall thus exposing the bacteria to osmotic pressure which eventually destroys the bacteria by rupturing it. Certain derivatives of strepto penicillin have chemical alterations to the beta-lactam ring or the side chains so it can be more active against resistant bacteria, more acid stable (stomach acid) or able to penetrate the outer membranes of gram-negative bacteria. Such inventions would not have been possible without the cross-fertilisation between fungal penicillin research and the chemical creativity of streptomyces antibiotic production. Strepto penicillin mechanism is a focused biochemical attack that focuses on some of the places most basic to the life of bacteria–the cell wall. The bacteria cannot survive without this wall as it keeps the structure intact and guards them against their surroundings. 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Some bacteria have developed defense mechanisms after decades of exposure with the most widespread being the creation of beta-lactamases the enzymes that cleave through the beta-lactam ring making the antibiotic useless. PBPs of other bacteria have changed to prevent the antibiotic to bind successfully. To solve these problems, pharmaceutical researchers invented beta-lactamase inhibitor, where beta-lactamase can be used together with strepto penicillin to ensure protection against enzyme degradation. Nevertheless, these measures have their limits, too, and new resistance systems still appear. That is why it is crucial to use antibiotics wisely as a method of antibiotic stewardship and make their use based on the real necessity only, in order to maintain their effectiveness. Industrial scale production of strepto penicillin is a mix of microbiological growth, chemical engineering and pharmaceutical processing. The first step of this process would involve developing either Penicillium or Streptomyces strain in a controlled fermentation environment that would result in the production of antibiotic substances. After the fermentation interacting with the culture broth, the antibiotic is isolated, and is stripped off impurities and is then modified chemically in case of need to form certain derivatives. Genetic engineering is becoming a large part of most modern pharmaceutical plants, which makes them well equipped to optimize their production strain, giving them an increased yield and a more predictable chemistry. This guarantees that the end product drug has high standards of quality and safety before being availed at hospitals and pharmacies. The future of strepto penicillin will have to rely on both innovation and responsibilities. Regarding practical innovation, scientists are working on synthetic biology to come up new structures of beta-lactams which the bacteria will have never seen. It has the potential to develop antibiotics that will go round current resistance systems. Targeted delivery systems Another area of possible discovery is so-called nanoparticle carriers; this is where strepto penicillin is transported to the infection site so it has a maximum effect and a minimum impact on beneficial bacteria in the body. In its side of responsibility the global health organizations are insisting on rigid use of antibiotic stewardship. This implies not only prescribing strepto penicillin and analog drugs sparingly but also training the society on full antibiotics satisfaction and prevention of overuse of the medication. It is only through the scaling back of sharp science and considerate utilization that we can be sure reaching into the future that strepto penicillin will continue to be effective in curbing bacterial infections. Strepto penicillin itself is not an individual or isolated medication but is a classification that can be used to describe derivatives of penicillin affected by or synthesized using techniques based on the Streptomyces bacteria bacteria. It totals the foundation of the classical production of penicillin with the advancements that came with the observation about other antibiotics producing microorganisms. Most regular penicillin is derived from Penicillium mold, but strepto penicillin derivatives can be developed as a mutant with increased stability, or wider antibacterial activity, or resistance to bacterial enzymes. These advances commonly are based upon chemical tactics initially discovered in the analysis of antibiotics created by Streptomyces. No, it is not able to cure all kinds of bacterial infections. It works on the premise of the infection causing bacteria being vulnerable to the medicine. Other infections and in particular the ones caused by resistant gram-negative bacteria might necessitate the use of antibiotics of other classes altogether. Strepto penicillin, as all antibiotics, may have a side effect. These can be anything as mild as nausea, diarrhea, rashes and include serious cases of allergies in others. Anaphylaxis is quite a serious medical condition that needs prompt treatment, albeit rarely. The prevalence of strepto penicillin antibiotic resistance is one of the limiting factors to the use of strepto penicillin freely in many situations. Resistant bacteria degrade the drug using enzymes or change the proteins they use to make up their cell walls in such a way that the antibiotic cannot attach itself to them. This makes it very important that one takes antibiotics responsibly and only under the professional advice. It is quite safe to use strepto penicillin during pregnancy in most incidence but a health practitioner should always decide whether to use it or not after comparing the risks and the benefits involved. The safety may also depend on a specific formulation and the health of a patient. Strepto penicillin is the product of medical innovation blending both the older success story of penicillin and the new opportunities with new discoveries about Streptomyces. It has already helped to save numerous lives and remains one of the pillars that helps in fighting against bacterial infections. Nevertheless, the increasing issue of antibiotic resistance acts as a constant reminder of the fact that this weapon has to be used sparingly. With further science, the tale of strepto penicillin will keep developing itself through the dualism of innovation and stewardship. Formulation of new derivatives, utilization of novel delivery techniques and mobilization of healthcare providers and general population to adhere to prudent use can help ensure that this spectacular antibiotic sustains its life-saving potential into generations to come. Not only in hospitals and clinics has strepto penicillin left a mark but also as a greater achievement of mankind in comprehending and utilizing the chemistry of nature to the good of the society. It warns us not to be surprised where the solutions to some of the world most health complications might be found; whether it is a mold growing on an unused Petri dish or a bacteria growing in the ground. Much still needs to be done to fight the diseases that are infectious, yet strepto penicillin, with furthers research and responsible distribution and collaboration of global health care options, will continue as an ally in human health protection for generations to come. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
