We are trying to raise funds to purchase a neater eater for my son who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

We have already raised funds towards an adapted disabled bike and have partial funds already towards the neater hence me lowering our target for those who have already seen our story.

Charlie is nearly 9 years old and for his whole life has never been able to feed himself, his occupational therapist has recently tried out a state of the art neater eater on Charlie which he took to instantly. The satisfaction, happiness and independence brought him and us to watch him do this was beyond words. Unfortunately the council are unable to purchase this equipment as they are in excess of £5,500 to buy. Having this piece of equipment would mean the world to Charlie and to us as a family to sit around the table having a family meal for charlie to feel independent and included like everyone else.

This piece of equipment would last into adulthood so would give many years of happiness and independence for Charlie.

Please find it in your heart to dig as deep as possible and share this much worthy cause. Charlie deserves to experience life as much as possible like any other able child.

Here's a little background info on charlie and his story:-

Charlie was born in December 2008 he was born at 37.5 weeks via emergency c-section and weighed a tiny 4lb 10oz the pregnancy was pretty normal however reduced movements were the cause of him being born via c section. It was evident when he was born that the placenta hadn't been functioning properly. When we took him home after spending his first week in the neonatal unit being tube fed he struggled to drink his bottle we just changed bottles not thinking anything, (this ended up being the fact he didn't have the muscle strength in his mouth to do it properly due to cerebral palsy) at 4 weeks he was re admitted by ambulance with a severe chest infection they picked up that his left arm seemed odd, floppy like he had an injury, so did relevant checks and X-rays and diagnosed him with urbs palsy assuming he must have been laid awkward in the womb, I was worried about his sight he didn't seem to be able to see but everyone around me thought i was over reacting as a new Mum etc, till the day arrived 19th April 2009 we took charlie out to wentworth estate and garden centre, literally 10 mins being out of the car charlie stopped breathing his face was blue when we looked down at him I was screaming my husband tried to give him the kiss of life, two people approached us they were my angels one was an a&e registrar the other a nurse they saved my babies life! We were admitted to Barnsley where on 3 occasions he stopped breathing again and the last time they had to bag and mask him to bring him back, he was transferred to sheffield children's hospital where he had numerous tests scans and xrays and was then diagnosed with a rare severe form of epilepsy "west syndrome" I was in a haze and suppose denial and believed epilepsy was treatable etc. The doctor noticed how his sight was poor (mothers instinct was right after all) all his developing was delayed he had only just learned to smile, we were told charlie may never smile again. As the months went on I still believed charlie would develop as any other able child still not realising the extensive damage this form of epilepsy does, reality hit i suppose after his 1st birthday and towards 18months not only could charlie not walk he still could not even sit unaided. Over the years after this once I grieved for what couldn't and never would happen I looked at all the positives and worked so hard to help charlie he got his smile back which is now his trademark, the first time he laughed turned me to a crying wreck, the first word he spoke was the colour "red" he learnt to talk, I never thought I would here him say "mummy" but he did, I never thought he would be able to tell me he loves me, but he can another heart melting moment, he knew all his colours when he was 2 years old he was not understandable to strangers but to me I knew everything he was saying, he went from being told he would do nothing to being a very clever, bright intelligent little boy. Charlie has an extensive knowledge on all his favourite tv programmes and DVDs, he knows his school routine and that of his peers, he's now talking in longer sentences, he can drive his power chair, and his funny sense of humour is second to none, he makes everyone smile who comes into contact with him. This little boy has gone through numerous hospital procedures, scans, X-rays, EEG, copious amount of blood tests, he's had many surgeries to help him deal and cope with the trials of what quadriplegic cerebral palsy does to a child just to try and help his tight muscles and the pain he suffers, he's already endured more than many adults would in their lifetime. All I can say is I'm so proud to be Charlie's mummy and will do everything I can for him to have as normal and independent life as possible

Thank you for taking the time to read our story xxx