When Debbie Robins became pregnant via IVF in 1987, she became sick almost straight away.
Diagnosed with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, a complication from fertility treatment that can lead to stroke or kidney failure, she spent weeks in hospital. “I was restricted to bed and vomiting twenty-four-seven, so I was quite ill,” she says. “Then I came home and was on complete bed rest for a few months.”
When her son Kim was born in 1988, things didn’t get any easier. “He was a difficult baby because he used to cry all the time, sweat profusely and nothing could settle him,” recalls Debbie, who appears with son Kim in Vitamania, a documentary investigating vitamin science.
By the time Kim was six months old, Debbie realised he wasn’t reaching his developmental milestones. After months of testing, Kim was diagnosed with a neural tube defect when was about 12 months old.
By the time Kim was six months old, Debbie realised he wasn’t reaching his developmental milestones. After months of testing, Kim was diagnosed with a neural tube defect when was about 12 months old.
Neural tube defects are congenital abnormalities of the brain, or spinal column, which form in the first four weeks of pregnancy, where the neural tube does not close over. The most common is spina bifida, a condition which can cause paralysis.
Little was known about the causes of neural tube defects until 1989, when research by Professor Fiona Stanley and Professor Carol Bower showed that mothers with high folate (vitamin B9) levels had low rates of neural tube defects. It was later shown that neural tube defects could be reduced by 70 per cent if enough folate is provided in the early stages of pregnancy.
In 1992, Kim, then four years old, was the poster child for a world-first education campaign run by the Telethon Kids Institute to raise awareness about the link between folate and neural tube defects. The campaign encouraged pregnant women to increase their intake of folate through diet or supplements to 600 milligrams a day, more than the 400 milligrams recommended for other adults. In one memorable photograph from the campaign, taken in a field of cabbages at Lansdale Market Garden in Perth, Kim is pictured in Professor Stanley’s arms as she gives him a kiss on the cheek.
The groundbreaking study and subsequent health campaigns saw a 50 per cent decrease in the number of children born with neural tube defects in Australia. The rate has continued to fall since the federal and state governments introduced rules to make the fortification of bread-making flour with folate mandatory from September 2009. The prevention of neural tube defects with folic acid has been called one of the great medical advances of the 20th century.
Kim’s triumph against the odds
With the support of his parents and older sister, Kim defied the doctors and medical professionals who said that he would never walk, play sport or go to a normal school – he did all three.
Kim was shy as a child and his primary school tutor suggested that he take up sport to boost his self-esteem. Like any active kid, over the years he tried as many sports as he could before he settled on two he loved, basketball and tennis, reaching representative levels at both.
At 18, he decided to pursue wheelchair basketball over tennis. A deciding factor was that it was a team sport. “All my friends played, and Western Australia has a long history of producing exceptional wheelchair basketball athletes at an international level,” he says. “That made the decision easier.”
Now, over ten years later, Kim plays wheelchair basketball professionally in Perth and Europe, where he is about to start his ninth season. He’s a regular fixture in the Australian Rollers, the national men’s wheelchair basketball team that is set to play in the World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Hamburg this month.
In 1992, Kim, then four years old, was the poster child for a world-first education campaign run by the Telethon Kids Institute to raise awareness about the link between folate and neural tube defects.
He has a degree in sports science and is currently working on a Masters in Finance. “It’s a big change but business is an area that I can leverage a lot of the skills I learnt from being part of an elite team,” he says. “Last season I played basketball, worked part time and did my Masters all at the same time. It was very intense but rewarding.”
Kim and Debbie jumped at the opportunity to be part of Vitamania to continue to promote the link between folate and neural tube defects, particularly to international audiences who have missed out on the benefits of Australia’s health campaigns.
“Folate has been in Australian bread for such a long time, it’s not really an issue here anymore,” he says. “We didn’t know that a lot of countries, France and in other parts of Europe…don’t fortify their food. They still have a really high rate of neural tube defects.”
Over 25 years after she kissed him in cabbage patch, Kim still has a close relationship with Professor Stanley, a woman he has much respect for. “She’s had such a profound impact on science and research in Australia,” he says.
Nicola Heath is a freelance writer. Follow her on Twitter: @nicoheath or Instagram: @nicola_heath.
Vitamania premieres Sunday 12 August, 8.30pm on SBS. The documentary will be available after broadcast via SBS On Demand. Join the conversation @Vitamaniamovie #Vitamania, visit www.vitamaniathemovie.com
