Oona Dooks - Little Red Wheelchair
Oona is nine years old and was diagnosed with complex neurological condition the cause of which is unknown but has caused her to have a rare form of Cerebral Palsy. Oona's family came to Tree of Hope for help to raise funds for therapies, home adaptations and equipment to help Oona thrive!
Oona is a bright, loving and fearless nine year old girl with a complex neurological condition. She was born with incredible drive to achieve and live life to the fullest. Oona's condition has resulted in her having many operations throughout her life she rehabilitation therapies are crucial to helping Oona achieve her goals. She has a passion for swimming and music and so Oona tends to find her therapies lots of fun. Swimming has been particularly helpful for Oona's physical and mental health. Racing in the pool has become Oona's big dream, and she swims several times a week. Today she sees herself as a swimmer and Oona benefits hugely from visits to Swim Lab International where she gets intensive specialist swim coaching and physical therapy.
To date the family have raised over £20,000 of their £30,000 target which has helped Oona access therapies, specialist walking frames and footwear and helped the family to look at adapting their home to make it as accessible as possible for Oona.
The family have been hugely supported by developing their use of social media and has inspired members of their community to come forward to help support them, in lots of small and creative ways. Oona's campaign has also caught the attention of corporates, both in the UK and overseas and their Tree of Hope status has helped the to access grants.
“I was very nervous about fundraising. We deliberated for a long time about it, but we needn’t have. Tree of Hope made the process easy and have been hugely supportive. They gave great advice about how to use social media, which I was particularly nervous about, and even got her on the front page of our local paper.”
“The support from our community, and their generosity, has been tremendous. When I read people’s comments I feel like everyone is cheering for her, and that helps us keep going. It’s given all of us, including Oona, a huge boost.”
