Mainer's invention could prevent newborn brain damage, cerebral palsy

A Maine man's invention could one day help prevent brain damage and cerebral palsy in newborns.

Cerebral palsy affects between two and six infants out of every 1,000 births.

It can impair a person's ability to control their body movement and may also impair their speech, vision and ability to eat or drink. Cerebral palsy makes life very difficult for those who have it and their family members.

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It's a situation Meadow Merrill knows all about.

"When we looked at Ruth, and we saw her laugh, and we saw her smile and the light that was in her eyes. She looked as normal to us as any of our kids," said Merrill.

Her daughter, Ruth, died at the age of seven from complications related to cerebral palsy.

"Ruth had severe cerebral palsy. So at 16 months old when we met her, she could not lift up her head. If she were laying on the floor she could not roll over. She could not track an object with her eyes," said Merrill.

Ruth arrived in Maine from Uganda in 2004 to get treatment for cerebral palsy

At the time, Merrill and her husband already had three children of their own, but said when they met Ruth it was clear she would be their fourth child.

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Mainer's invention could prevent newborn brain damage, cerebral palsy