My lovely friends. Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

It's easy to take for granted our health and fitness. And you all know how much I enjoy keeping fit!!

This year please help me use my passion for cycling to help Sophie get the magic legs she deserves. 

Help Change Sophie's Life Forever

 Sophie was born premature and diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, Spastic Diplegia at 16 months old with restricted lower limb (legs) use. She is now 6 years old, and a happy fun loving girl. Whilst she attends her local mainstream school, she has very limited mobility, and mainly has to use a wheelchair or walking frame for very short distances only.

She has a gift for bringing joy to all around her and despite her restrictions she is an extremely positive, joyful and sensitive little girl. 

Sophie loves school, and is doing well academically. She really enjoys playing with her friends at school and is popular and engaging with everyone she meets. She has fantastic support at school especially the care she receives from her 1:1 teaching assistant – whom she loves. Never one to allow her disability to stop her from enjoying life, out of school her hobbies are swimming lessons and horse riding, with the Riding Disability Association (RDA). Both of these interests provide the physiotherapy she requires. Sophie also loves singing, reading and dancing (upper body only but with your help this will soon change!).   

The next stage to help Sophie’s development is to give her the gift of mobility – something most of us take for granted.

Since initial diagnoses Sophie has undergone numerous treatments, tests and assessments. The good news is that Sophie has finally been selected as an ideal candidate for a pioneering surgery known as Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR).  However, the much more tragic news is the local NHS has taken the decision, on appeal not to fund the operation. This news is devastating for us, as it is the key to Sophie living life as any child should, able to move independently and allowing her the freedom we take for granted.

The SDR treatment is life changing and would permit Sophie, much greater mobility. She would require much specialist support initially and but her mobility would increase with practice and intensive physiotherapy. You can see from here determination and desire to live life to the full that she is a courageous and determined girl and has always responded extremely well to all her previous physiotherapy.

With your help we could pay for the surgery to change her life.

To support Sophie a group of cyclists - Andy Hoult, Chris Allen, Sarah Berry, John McKenna, Jonno Wilson will be riding from Lands End to John O'Groats.

Long distance cycling is about facing a challenge of endurance and endeavour so cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats, the furthest possible distance in the British Isles, is a classic challenge that many dream of.

Starting at Land’s End on the southwesterly tip of England, we will pedal our way through Cornwall, over Dartmoor and north along the Welsh border, skirting the Lake District into Scotland, via lochs and mountains to the North coast and John O’Groats.

In all we will cover almost 1000 miles in 12 days, passing through some of the most stunning and remote countryside in the British Isles.

This is a tough challenge but a fabulous way to see the country, We'll work hard, endure exhaustion, battle lactic acid burn and probably have a boil or two in uncomfortable places. What will keep us going is Sophie and the chance to give her the magic legs she deserves.

Thank you all for your generosity and support. 

Sarah

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