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Cheers4Chester
Just4Children needs your help to support a very special little boy who needs life changing surgery to hopefully help him one day walk!
Chester was born 9 weeks early weighing just 3lbs. His first 50 days were spent in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where we learned that he had damage to the white matter of his brain. He was later diagnosed with Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy affecting all 4 limbs.
This means that his gross motor functions are severely impaired and that he has “spasticity” (extreme tightness of his muscles) preventing him from being able to move in the way he wants, resulting in unusual movement patterns.
Through hard work and physio we have already managed to significantly improve Chester’s mobility. He has exceeded expectations but the spasticity in his muscles still prevents him being able to do most things that other children do.
We have been advised about a surgery called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) that has been improving the lives of children like Chester all around the world and began the lengthy assessment process. SDR isn’t widely available in the UK yet and has strict criteria for NHS funding, so Chester will be having this surgery in the US with Dr Park at St Louis Children’s Hospital.
His spasticity will be permanently reduced meaning he will be able to learn new, pain free ways to move. His sitting, standing and hopefully one day even walking will massively improve. It really is life changing.
Whether we have to fundraise for Just4Children or have it on the NHS this is a massive operation and we need your help to make it happen. Chester will require an intense rehab period of 2 years where he will need physio 3 times per week as well as continuous work at home including the purchase of a lot of equipment that we currently don’t have. He will also need intensive therapy and strengthening pre-op to ensure the procedure has the best possible outcome – all of which doesn’t come cheap.
Please help us to give our cheeky, determined little boy this best chance that we can to take his first steps!
