My five year old granddaughters Sarah and Sophie are the most amazing happy little girls. They both have quadriplegic cerebral palsy and their day to day living is difficult. Sarah cannot sit unaided, she cannot use her hands and arms independently and needs support to weightbear. She is primarily in a wheelchair and will need one to one support for the rest of her life. The NHS provide help for Sarah. My daughter Vicki and son-in-law Alan are amazing parents and carers but both Sarah’s and their own lives could be immensely enhanced with private measures. These range from private speech therapy (£60 per hr) to a piece of equipment called an InnoWalker (£15,000) which would move Sarah’s body for her, keeping her circulation and hips/joints healthy, reducing long term health problems. The list is endless and equipment has to be replaced as Sarah grows.

Sophie (the really cheeky one) is able to talk, use her hands and move independetly with a kaye frame walker. She has endured endless physio sessions over the last couple of years with the result that she can take independent (if wobbly) steps over a short distance. We are hoping that she will have SDR surgery within six months. This gives her the chance to walk, run and maybe even jump. The surgery will leave Sophie unable to even sit up and she will need relearn how to walk through extensive physio and rehabilitation. This is thankfully provided by the NHS but to a limited extent. To enable her to make the most of this chance she will need private physio, access to specialist SDR rehabilitation units and ‘SwimLabs’ and a never ending list of equipment. For example, private orthotic splints costing £295 per leg which could need to be replaced after just six months if she has a growth spurt!

Myself, my partner David and the amazing local community around us are determined to provide as much funding as we possibly can to improve the lives of Sarah and Sophie and their family. If you are able to please support one of our events or donate on this page. Thank you.