R & J Dream to Walk

Jack and Rebecca are a pair of three-year-old twins who aren't walking like you would expect kids their age to do. They both need support to walk as they were diagnosed with diplegic cerebral palsy just after their second birthday. Watching them, you wouldn't see any difference as they play with their friends: it's only when the rest of the children stand up and run, that you notice these two happy, laughing children crawling to catch up, or using metal walkers that help them to be on the same level as their peers. Numbers, letters, words, shapes and colours have been easily learnt, they love reading books, the only thing holding them back is walking. The only current treatment available generally on the NHS is Physiotherapy, this can help but will only assist the twins with “living” with the condition. There is no guarantee that with just physiotherapy the twins will ever walk. There is treatment available that makes their lives better. Unfortunately it is not generally available on the NHS. This treatment is Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy or SDR for short. The operation involves cutting some of the sensory nerve fibres that come from the muscles and enter the spinal cord. This operation would provide the twins with the best possible way to change their lives. The snag is the cost. The cost would be £100,000 for both. The money would not only pay for the operation but all associated cost including equipment, physiotherapy sessions that they'd need afterwards. We - the twin's friends and family - are trying to raise as much towards that £100,000 as we can. It's so important that we give these twins the best start to life that we can, and every single penny really does help us reach that goal. www.dreamtowalk.co.uk Jack & Rebecca.