Amy's Journey

Hi my name is Cheryl, Amy's mum.

Amy is 12 years old she's loving, caring, cheeky and just amazing! She is a sister to 3 brothers who adore her and as her mum I am so proud!

When Amy was born I was unaware of the pvl (type of brain damage) until she was diagnosed at 13 months old with cerebral palsy via mri.

Amy is in need of an operation to give her a better quality of life. Selective dorsal rhizotomy (sdr) is a surgery done on the lower spinal cord to reduce spasticity (tight muscle tone in the legs) certain abnormal nerve fibres that cause high muscle tone are cut. The goal of sdr is to relax the muscles by identifying and cutting only those nerve fibres that contribute to spasticity.

The purpose of sdr is to help improve reception by clearing the communication lines between the body's spinal cord nerves and muscles, which helps decrease muscle tone and stiffness. Risks with sdr surgery are notably low.

Unfortunately Amy does not qualify on the NHS for the surgery and the costs need to be fully covered before Amy can be listed. All other treatments have been trialled and tested and have now ended. All costs raised will go towards surgery, equipment and ongoing rehabilitation.

This is an amazing opportunity that has been offered, Amy fully understands about what this surgery can do and she knows it will help her long term. This will take place at Alder Hey Children's Hospital where she has all her appointments.

Sdr benefits are:

Reduce spasticity

Reduce painful spasms

Improve ease of cares

Improve functional mobility

Improve self care activities

Improve sleep pattern

Improve energy levels and physical endurance

So please any donations would be helpful to get Amy the operation that she needs.

Thank you.