Fundraising for our son Rhys who has cerebral palsy.
Fundraising pageOur twin boys Dylan and Rhys were born 8 weeks premature, Dylan was heartbreakingly born sleeping weighing 1lb 10 oz and Rhys weighed 4lb 11 oz, Rhys went straight into the neonatal unit where he thrived and came home after 4 weeks. It was around 6 months that we noticed that Rhys wasn't reaching his milestones and his feet and bottoms of his legs were very stiff. He couldn't sit unaided, couldn't crawl on all fours and couldn't do a number of things that babies the same age could do. Rhys was diagnosed with Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy at around 18 months old, this affects both his legs and means that he will never be able to walk unaided. Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) is an operation not currently funded by the NHS, it helps to relax the spasticity in his legs, hopefully enabling him to walk. We will need to fundraise to cover the cost of this procedure. Any money raised for Rhys will enable him to have the operation in Bristol, and it will also pay for the intensive daily physiotherapy which Rhys will need for two years or more after the operation. Rhys is such a happy determined little boy and it is heartbreaking to see him struggling to keep up with his family and friends, he wants to be doing the things that everyone else is doing but his little legs won't let him. We want to be able to give him the chance of taking his first steps and walking, something that we all take for granted, this is his only option. We would love the opportunity to be able to do this for Rhys. It would mean the world to us to see him being able to run around with his brothers.
The Yorkshire Peaks Challenge involves climbing Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside, often within 12 hours.