Amelia Calnan is an incredible 3 year old from Clonakilty, Cork, Ireland, diagnosed with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, Neurofibromatosis Type 1, epilepsy, bilateral hearing loss and complex vision. Although these diagnosis don't define who she is, they do impact her daily life. Currently, Amelia is working on sitting and standing independently, something a 3 year old shouldn't even have to think about, and she uses equipment or support from family and friends to explore her world. Her biggest achievement to date has been learning to army crawl, and now she is so fast! But we want to give her as much independence as a 3 year old should have. Our goals for Amelia over the next while are sitting and walking independently.

In light of meeting our first goal, we're keeping this fundraiser open and any extra funds raised will go towards the next step in Amelia's new therapy goals for 2026, which we hope will include spml surgery. SPML is a minimally invasive surgery that targets the tight muscles caused by her cerebral palsy.

THANK YOU EVERYONE! We've now raised the funds needed to help Amelia attend an incredible and renowned specialist physical therapy clinic in North Carolina called All Kids Are Perfect . We travel in December for 2 weeks of intensive physio and OT, it will be hard work but worth it.

When Amelia was born she suffered oxygen deprivation (HIE) due to placental abruption. Delivered via emergency c-section (catagory 1) she was resuscitated and immediately placed on life saving cooling therapy. Her entire body had gone into global shut down with no normal brain activity, only seizures. She was intubated and had 7 different medications to help stabilise her. That night the the Dr told us "I think she might make it". We were more than blessed that she did. An MRI 5 days later confirmed significant brain damage and that if Amelia did survive, she was looking at a life with severe delays and cerebral palsy. Very soon Amelia's kidneys started working, and she had a tiny 5ml pee. Mum had never been so excited about pee before! From then on, she grew from strength to strength, surpassing the Dr's expectations and in 10 days was breathing for herself, reducing medications and mum and dad even got to hold her for the first time. She finally was healthy enough to come home at 6 weeks old.

From that moment on mum and dad worked tirelessly to help Amelia recover. Mum began learning about complimentary neuromovement methods and began applying them at home daily. Amelia also went to craniosacral therapy regularly, and still does! Eventually we even added hippotherapy which she loves. Over time, we were able to compile a home therapy programme to suit her unique needs. Her progress has always shown how determined, resilient and strong she is.

Due to Amelia's cerebral palsy her inner thighs and hamstrings are tight. This is due to her brain damage affecting her ability to send the correct signals to her muscles. Without intervention she would eventually need major hip surgery and possibly be in pain for the rest of her life. The type of treatment available at AKAP uses techniques that target the brain's ability of neuroplasticity, meaning there is potential for it to 'rewire' and bypass the areas that are damaged.

We have big dreams for our little Amelia, but just imagine how happy she could be sitting, walking, even running with friends in preschool and beyond. We have to try, reach high and dream big for our Amelia and thanks to your help Amelia is already getting there!