The child who will celebrate her third birthday at her Dubbo home next month was diagnosed with cerebral palsy about a year ago.

The confirmation of why Eliza had trouble crawling and walking changed the young family’s life but parents Michael and Fiona remain both thankful and focused.

Eliza has a type of cerebral palsy that affects her legs, but not her arms or intellectual ability and she does not have seizures. She wears one type of splints during the day and another at night to keep her legs straight.

Her parents hope one day she may be able to walk without holding on to a frame or someone else’s hand. To that end she has botox injections every four months to try to stop the spasms in her legs.

Her cerebral palsy highlights the extra disadvantages people with disabilities in rural areas face.

The Quinn family, which now includes 11-week-old Juliet, travels to Westmead Children’s Hospital for the botox administration, a 10-minute procedure.

“It’s exhausting travelling, it’s such a long way to go for such a short appointment,” Mrs Quinn said.

But returning last year to live at Dubbo, where Mrs Quinn grew up, has also proved a blessing.

Not only did they have the comfort of family, they also found fabulous support from Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Northcott and Orana Early Childhood Intervention, Mrs Quinn said.