In between my festivals this summer I will be attempting to skate a minimum of 200 miles to contribute to Skate to the States for Graces Goal.

The Portsmouth Roller Wenches,The Portsmouth Scurvy Dogs, and their wenchlings will be skating a mammoth 3055 miles over 3 months from 1st June to 31st August to raise money for Graces Goal. Grace has Cerebral Palsy and needs a life changing operation to help her to walk. 3055 miles is the distance to the hospital in America where Grace will have this operation. Here is her story:

Grace Alys Miracle Shiers was born at 26 weeks, weighing just 1lb 14oz. She fought for 9 long weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit before being allowed home. Katy and Dave (Graces Mum and Dad) enjoyed every second with their long awaited daughter. However, it was obvious things weren’t right with Grace. As happy and content as Grace was, she didn’t meet any of her physical milestones. At the age of 18 months Grace was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, at this point it was unclear what Grace would or would not achieve in her life. Whilst Graces parents were understandably upset, they were ready to fight to give their little girl all the help they could, after all it was a four-year battle just to fall pregnant with her. By the age of 2 Grace finally learnt to sit up unaided, this is where her progress stopped until the age of 4. Graces parents paid to take Grace to a special intensive physiotherapy centre and finally Grace leant to crawl. This was the first time Graces parents got to see Grace show the potential they knew she always had. In the past 6 months, all due to Graces hard work, she has leant to take a few steps with walking aids. This is amazing to everyone around Grace, but it is not enough for her! She longs to play with her friends without her Mum and Dad having to help her, kick a ball for the first time, and walk her beloved dog…. All the things most people take for granted. Grace is excelling in her first year at school but the fact she cannot walk greatly affects her in many ways. Graces muscles are far too tight to allow her to move around freely. Simply put, her legs do not do what she wants them too. She also suffers painful spasms. Grace has only ever slept through a handful of nights in her whole life due to pain in her legs and the inability to move at all in her bed, due to her tightness being worse at night time.

.

Grace is now a happy and funny 4-year-old little girl. Her parents are taking her to America for an operation called Selective Diorsal Rhizotomy, Without SDR Grace is destined to be forever in a wheelchair, faces operations and a life full of limitations. A miracle like Grace deserves much much.

The operation and all the travel and accommodation cost £65,000. So please dig deep and help this little angel.