Harry's Independence

Our beautiful son Harry was a normal little boy, meeting his milestones on time, walking and chatting without a care in the world. Once he started School, we noticed he struggled getting up from the floor, climbing the stairs and keeping up with his friends. We visited Paediatricians at our local hospital, expecting to be told Harry has weak leg muscles and needed Physio to correct this. The diagnosis we received instead was that our precious little boy had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy which turned our worlds upside down.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a rare progressive muscle-wasting condition that eventually affects all muscles in the body, including the heart and lungs. It is a life-limiting condition that worsens over time, preventing the continued use of limbs. There is currently no cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, but there is hope!

To watch our son gradually lose the use of his legs and become confined to a wheelchair has been heartbreaking to watch. Harry is now starting to lose strength in his arms, which is so hard, knowing what is to come for him. Not being able to walk is one thing, but losing the ability to eat, brush his teeth, play his beloved Xbox and cuddle his family is another.

Harry never complains about his condition; he is such a happy, upbeat little boy who doesn’t dwell on the things he cannot do or misses out on. He is very fortunate to have so many friends at school and so many people who really care for him and look out for him.

Harry currently has a manual wheelchair, which he relies on having someone push him everywhere he needs to go. He has tried out a motorised wheelchair recently, which saw his little face light up. The chair had many functions, which Harry immediately took to and had a lot of fun trying it out. The chair has an Electric Seat riser that will ensure Harry can see when in a crowd and reach for things up high, it has tilt and recline backrest, which will be amazing for travelling and an electric elevating leg rest. All controlled from a joystick on the chair arm. The independence this will bring Harry will be priceless!

We set up this fundraiser to give Harry the wheelchair he deserves, but thanks a generous donor no longer need to fundraise for this! However we will continue to fundraise for the equipment and therapies he needs to give him independence to keep up with his peers and give him a positive outlook to his future. If you can spare any money to help with this cause we will be forever grateful!

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