Meet the pre-schooler whose family needs help to give her a chance to be able to walk – Daily Post

A three year old whose smile can "light up the darkest of days" needs a pioneering operation in order to give her the best chance of being able to walk.

The family of Olivia Wright, who has Bilateral Cerebral Palsy and Spasticity, are desperately trying to raise 60,000 for the life-changing operation and aftercare, which is not available to her on the NHS.

When Olivia was born prematurely at 27 weeks weighing just 2lb 6oz, her parents, Claire and Jason Wright, from Colwyn Bay, were told by medics "to be prepared for the worst" as she was ventilated for five days and required oxygen for 18 months afterwards.

By four weeks old she'd suffered two bleeds on the brain and was diagnosed as having Hydrocephalus - which typically causes increased pressure inside the skull.

She has undergone three surgeries for this so far, and has had a VP shunt inserted to relieve pressure on the brain.

At 18 months old Olivia was also diagnosed with Bilateral Cerebral Palsy and Spasticity, meaning she is a full time wheelchair user, needing a great amount of additional support from various teams.

Her proud Dad, Jason, who works for the RAF said: "Olivia is an inspirational little girl whose smile can light up the darkest days.

"When we've come out of any medical appointments with her sometimes feeling a little down, she always cheers us up simply by being her.

"With everything she has been through so far she is still a real bundle of joy and fills us all with love.

"She is the youngest of three and absolutely adores her sister, Mia, 12 and brother, Isaac, nine, who have been inspirational in her development too."

Jason added: "I don't think she would have come on so well without them, Mia is like another mum and Isaac loves to play Lego with her and so on, we are very lucky."

The family are now desperately trying to raise funds for SDR treatment, which would be performed at Alder Hey Children's Hospital and corrects muscle spasticity by cutting the nerve rootlets in the spinal cord that are sending abnormal signals to the muscles.

The money is needed for the surgery and the aftercare she will need. It would also go towards a specialist wheelchair which would mean the family could take Olivia out into the countryside with her siblings.

But funding for the treatment is not available to her on the NHS.

Children who have cerebral palsy are classified according to their motorability. The NHS will fund categories one to three-meaning the child can already walk with an aid, but will not fund children like Olivia who are in category four, meaning they mostly use a wheelchair for mobility.

However Alder Hey will continue to provide SDR for children outside the commissioned criteria who would benefit from this surgery but on a self-funded basis.

"As at present Olivia can't walk with a walking aid, the operation cannot be funded by the NHS, she doesn't fit into their criteria," explained Jason.

"But as parents Claire and I are determined to give our little girl the best possible chance for the best life she can have, we very much hope this surgery will have a great positive impact on Olivia's life for the future."

The Wright family have organised various fundraising events towards the cost, including Jason undertaking 24 hours of cross-training.

If you'd like to help raise money towards Olivia's operation and aftercare please to their fund-raising page here.

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Meet the pre-schooler whose family needs help to give her a chance to be able to walk - Daily Post