A FUN day at Spencers Sport and Social Club recently raised £2,665 towards sending a local boy to the USA for a potentially life-changing operation.
The social club held a fun day on Saturday 22nd August to raise money for the Helping Harry fund, set up to help two-year-old Harry Kirkman who has cerebral palsy.
Organiser Lecia Watts said, “The day went much better than expected – I’ve never organised anything like this before, so to have raised so much is great!
“We had a lot of help from local people and businesses, and around 300 people visited us on the day. We had a bouncy castle, cakes, games, a barbecue, live music and more going on. It was a great day and the weather was perfect – if anything it was a little too hot!
“I think Harry’s is such a great cause and we’ve really latched onto it at the club, so hopefully we’ll be holding similar events in the future!”
The Helping Harry fund was originally set up to fund private physiotherapy sessions, but has now set its eyes on a much larger target. Harry’s parents Charlotte Deegan and Matt Kirkman are aiming to raise £60,000 to send Harry to a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, where he could undergo a selective dorsal rhizotomy.
The operation would involve dividing nerve roots in Harry’s spine to reduce stiffness in his legs – a result of his cerebral palsy. Harry’s mum Charlotte said, “The fundraising has been amazing and we’ve had overwhelming support from everyone. It’s the worst thing not being able to give your child everything he needs, so we really appreciate everyone’s help.
“The operation will reduce the spasticity in Harry’s legs. They can be so stiff and cause him pain so the long term goal would be to get him to take some independent steps and leave him pain-free.
“It feels like he has been given a chance for a new life, and one that should be mostly pain-free. In the long run, it should also reduce the amount of operations he could need because of tight and stiff muscles.
“We are greatly concerned about the cost because it is a very large amount of money, and we can’t explain how grateful we have been so far for complete strangers approaching us to help our boy.
“We are just hoping we can continue on this path and raise the funds to give him this chance – as his parents it is a lot of pressure and can be quite intimidating. Failure is not an option! We are aiming to have the funds in place by July next year.”
If you would like to follow Harry’s story you can see his Facebook page ‘Helping Harry’, or to donate online visit www.gofundme.com/n549hg
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