Owen needs new wheels

Hi all, my name is Jeana and I am the proud mummy to this gorgeous dude Owen.

Owen has Cerebal Palsy which affects his left hand side.

Owen was born 8 weeks early after my waters spontaneously broke. I then caught an infection 3 days later and went into labour. After hours of contracting, 1 on top of another, we were finally heard and sent to delivery. Owen was having difficulty in the womb with each contraction and an emergency C section was performed. Within 20 minutes Owen was born and after a quick glimpse, was whisked of to NICU.

When we went to see him, he was on all sorts of equipment but was alive and at that point, that's all I was focused on.

I myself was very poorly for 3 days after the C section with the Infection and blood loss and was unable to see him during that time.

Little did I realise that he too had been very poorly. He had Sepsis and we nearly lost him but my little fighter hung on and 20 days later, on Christmas Eve of 2016, we were allowed to take him home. Best Christmas ever!!

Owen wasn't the strongest of babies, always poorly, always on antibiotics for one infection or another and delayed in his development. For a year I was concerned about Owen because he couldn't hold up his head or sit up, all the professionals would tell me it was because he was premature, but having had 2 daughters who were 8 week and 10 weeks premature, I wasn't so convinced that it was that alone.

At a year old, we were seeing a GP for an emergency appointment for yet another infection and was sent to the hospital. On the way out of the GPs office, the Dr told us to give the hospital a letter from him referring him to see a pediatrician regarding his suspicions that Owen had Cerebal Palsy, shocked does not cover our reactions to that news.

After what seemed like forever, it was confirmed that Owen did have Cerebal Palsy and a part of his brain missing.

Thankfully, Owen can talk and walk but his leg twists in at the hip and he is unable to put his foot flat the floor causing him to fall and injure himself on almost a daily basis.

His left foot twists in and sometimes looks like his foot is on backwards .

He has had multiple splints and leg wraps and years or physio as well as Botox injected into his leg to try and reset his foot positioning but these are only short term solution. He has due to have his Achilies Tendon lengthened in January and will need this operation more than once in his younger years as the foot will eventually raise and twist again. He will also need his hip resetting when his in his late teens as this operation involves breaking the thigh bone so can not be done whilst he's young and small.

To help with his recovery and to try and get as much time if you like out of this operation, his physiotherapist team are having a specialist lycra suit made for him to wear under his clothes to help his hip positioning as he will have a completly different gate when he comes out of the cast and after 5 years walking the way he does, he will need to learn to walk normally. They have also advised that Owen take up Frame Running as a form of treatment to help strengthen his body and his mind.

So, what is a Frame Runner? It's a specialist bike that looks like a trike, however there are no peddles, the user leans into it and controls the direction with handle bars and use their feet to get it going.

This bike would be massively beneficial to Owen but is out of reach due to the cost.

He's a typical loving, funny, cheeky 8 year old, wanting to do what other 8 years old do but his leg restricts him. He gets very frustrated that he can not back flip or fly like his hero Spiderman, but he can't swim, or run properly without falling or simply kick a ball and this has a massive impact on his emotional state.

Giving Owen this opportunity would be a massive boost to him and his self confidence. He would be able to safely "ride a bike" without the difficulty of having to peddle, he would be able to have a bit of freedom outside as his walking frame does not allow him to move the way he wants to but it would also enable him to have some fun.

I'd like to thank you all for reading this and thank you from the bottom of all our hearts if you are able to donate towards getting Owen new wheels.

Take care and cherish your loved ones.

Jeana, Owen and family.