Step up for Alex

Alex has Cerebral Palsy which affects her whole body but in particular her walking – a result of pre-birth complications.  Alex also has a twin sister, Izzy, who wants nothing more than to have her sister to be able to enjoy all that she does – Izzy’s dream is that Alex can run, play and join in all she does.

Fundraising began in November 2015 and in February 2016, Alex was able to have her life changing surgery SDR (Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy).  

In the 36 months since surgery Alex has spent 38 days in hospital, 2,100 hours plugged into Functional Electrical Stimulation, 351 hours in one-to-one physio and over 325 hours in the car to get to these appointments!  In between all this, she has completed Foundation, Year One, Year Two and Rainbows, moved up to Year 3 and Brownies, taken up horse riding, learnt to swim and tried to be an average eight-year old, just like her twin sister, Izzy.

Alex continues to face her post surgery rehabilitation and intensive post op physio regime with extraordinary determination, energy and lots of smiles and laughter. She is truly beginning to realise that she can be like Izzy with her “magic legs”.

Despite the gruelling schedule, Alex continues to blossom each day as she pushes herself to her limits.  With her body freed from the spasticity in her legs, she now walks confidently with no sticks or frames in her long and short AFO's and most amazingly around the house with AFO's or shoes.

Having now had two courses of botox injections, the last one in September saw injections and casting in both legs.  Having responded well to the first round of botox, this second course of double leg botox was too much for Alex at first, taking away all strength in her legs leaving her weak and unable to even stand.  However within two months of this operation she has worked tirelessly to regain her strength and is showing that botox injections do work with the best walking she’s done for a long time.  Hopefully this course of injections will see her through to foot corrective work around age 9.

Alex still faces years of non-NHS funded therapy – physio is now once a week and every other Saturday and the added personal training every other week after school is showing results.  Age 9 she will also need further surgeries to correct the damage that has been done over the years to her hips, ankles and feet and numerous pieces of equipment that will help at each stage and it unclear whether this will be available in time on the NHS.

With the most amazing support and generosity, we have raised just over £65,000 but for Alex to continue her journey to independence, fundraising will continue to reach our target of £70,000.

It’s a big ask of our family, friends, colleagues and the general public but we will push on to reach this target so that Alex can reach her potential.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Fundraising with Tree of Hope:

7.5% of all donations to Tree of Hope in relation to this appeal will be allocated to the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope to cover our core operating costs.

If we raise insufficient funds, or surplus funds, then the funds will be used, if appropriate, to fund support for our child’s needs in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objects. If in those circumstances we are unable to use all or part of the funds for the benefit of our child in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objects, then any funds that cannot be used will be transferred to be used for the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope.

If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to call the family
support team on 01892 535525.

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