Francis Read

We are fundraising to provide Francis with both a Hydro pool and a physio therapy room.

Francis stopped breathing at 6 weeks old and was rushed into hospital and remained unresponsive for almost an hour, after a few days his life support was switched off with doctors not expecting him to react well, he defied all odds and after nine months he came home where we are slowly crossing off many of the things he wouldn’t be able to do and replacing them with things he can do.

Francis suffers from Cerebral Palsy (level 5 which is the most severe), his right hip has migrated meaning it is and never has been in its socket, he has Scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and this is almost 75 degrees, with the curve being both left to right and front to back, he is fed through a tube in his stomach overnight, although he is registered blind he has some close up vision, daily he has to wear a body brace to help control the curve of his spine, he has ankle, leg and hand splints to help his joints from becoming twisted. Francis is a full time wheelchair user as he is non-mobile, , although he is non-verbal, he enjoys singing along to music in his own way, he has his daily physio and stretches to tunes like YMCA and I will walk 500 miles, his current favourite is Sweet Franci-Boy which is slightly changed from the original by Neil Diamond. Francis will often still be singing to himself many hours after going to bed.

Francis is currently under a number of Doctors and other medical professionals (almost 20), and there are no plans to carry out surgery on straightening his spine by attaching metal rods or keeping his hip in socket with a metal plate both of which would need to be repeated every 6-12 months as he grows, additionally, given the high risk from these operations both have recommended a review in 6-8 years with only monitoring of the conditions until then. As time goes on Francis will start to become more and more uncomfortable and this can be mitigated by both hydrotherapy and physiotherapy, whilst he gets limited physiotherapy at present the facilities we have at home are limited by the available space.

There is no hydrotherapy provision within our local area and even trying to get any facility is very difficult. We have tried a blow up hydro pool inside a tent in the garden but this is really only available on very hot days.

To overcome this we have already had planning permission for a Hydro therapy facility with above physio room to be built at the back of our garden, this will give Francis the ability to have daily hydro and physio sessions without the need to travel, this is especially important as Francis suffers from a compromised immune system, so having the ability for hydrotherapy at home will not only help with Francis’ health it will also reduce the need for long trips in the cold winter months. 

This facility will enable hydrotherapy to become more of a fun activity and will also allow Francis’s sister to join in with him, it will also serve to give Francis a better quality of life and help keep him pain free as he grows up.

The benefit of a hydrotherapy pool and large physio room for Francis will be life changing.

Finally thank you for your interest and support, and by sharing this page further you will help Francis get to his goal sooner.