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THIS IS A PUBLIC APPEAL TO RAISE THE MONEY NEEDED TO BRING A LIFE-CHANGING CEREBRAL PALSY TREATMENT (SDR) TO LEEDS.   The ‘One Step Closer’ appeal has been launched to raise funds for a state-of-the-art nerve monitoring machine, costing £36,000, which will enable a Neurosurgeon at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to become only the second UK surgeon to deliver Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) treatment to NHS patients through a minimal access incision.   The SDR operation has attracted wide-spread media and public attention in recent months as hundreds of families from across the UK have been raising funds to pay for the operation in the United States.   Designed to reduce the spasticity in the legs of children with Cerebral Palsy through the release of nerve fibres attached to the spinal column; children who have undergone the treatment have shown dramatic improvements in their mobility.   Mr John Goodden, a Consultant Paediatric Neurosurgeon at Leeds General Infirmary since 2010, has studied SDR in St Louis, Missouri with the World’s leading practitioner, Dr TS Park.  Prior this he trained in Sheffield and Hull and undertook specialist Fellowships at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Hospital and Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades in Paris, France.   Dr Park has helped over 2000 children to start walking independently for the first time since first performing the procedure in 1991. “There is little doubt that Dr Park has changed the lives of thousands of patients with Cerebral Palsy. What he has achieved in the US is truly remarkable.” commented Mr Goodden.   “Families from across the UK are raising anything from £30,000 to £45,000 each to pay for the operation and cost of travelling to St Louis. Having studied the procedure and the long-term benefits for children with CP, I am very keen to make it available in the UK within the National Health Service.”   In December 2010 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) revised its guidelines in reference to SDR, stating that the procedure could now be practiced in the UK.   In order for Mr Goodden safely deliver SDR he requires specialist Nerve Monitoring Equipment, hence this appeal to pay the £36,000 cost of equipping the hospital.   Mr Goodden added: “My hospital management are fully supportive of the plans to develop and introduce SDR in Leeds. With this equipment we can start accepting patients for SDR almost immediately.”     Driving the fundraising appeal is national charity, Caudwell Children, who have been supporting families wishing to travel to St Louis for SDR.   Chief Executive, Trudi Beswick, said: “We have witnessed first-hand the dramatic benefit this operation can have on children with Cerebral Palsy.” “Children who could only drag themselves along on their knees are now walking and running. Children who were full-time wheelchair users are now standing up straight and taking their first steps. We simply have to do anything we can to make SDR as widely available as possible.” Since August 2010 Caudwell Children has been instrumental in helping families fundraise to get the SDR treatment in the US, raising over £700,000 in the process. “Each family needs to raise £30,000 just to pay for the treatment in St Louis, many then have to raise additional money to pay for the post-operative physiotherapy as well. By working with the public to raise enough for this equipment we will potentially make this life-changing operation available to hundreds of disabled children in the UK.” Fundraisers at the charity are teaming up with families who have already received SDR treatment and the general public to try and raise the £36,000 needed. For more information about the ‘One Step Closer’ appeal or SDR please contact Sian Alcock at Caudwell Children on 01782 600418 / <a href="mailto:sian.alcock@caudwellchildren.com">sian.alcock@caudwellchildren.com</a>   Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity. So please dig deep and donate now.