The Healthy Strides Foundation

MaraTeun for Healthy Strides Foundation

An overload of energy, joy and enthusiasm is what makes a kid a kid. What do kids usually do with that? Exactly; running around! Either with or without any real purpose. Parents usually appreciate this as well as this means the kids will eat properly and fall asleep straightaway when they go to bed.

Unfortunately running does not come naturally for everyone.

Our son Teun is one of these kids and in his case this is due to a disorder in the brain called Cerebral Palsy (CP) and the specific type Ataxia.

Teun’s gross motor skills look unsteady and aren’t very well co-ordinated so he doesn’t walk or run smoothly. More detailed information on CP can be found here: www.cerebralpalsy.org.au 

Our boy has taught himself how to walk but he now wants to be able to go up steps and to be able to run around with his friends. He has also expressed the desire to run a marathon one day. Luckily there is no lack of persistence or ambition.

The Healthy Strides Foundation provide intensive training programs which focus on the needs of the individual. One of their intensive training programs is called Locomotor training where his motor skills are trained in an intensive step by step approach to re-wire the brain. Teun has enrolled in one of these programs and after a few weeks the results are amazing already, the smoothness of his running movements, the speed and agility are increasing almost on a day by day basis.

On the 26th of August 2018 Teun will be doing the 4 kms City to Surf run in Perth together with his brothers to raise funds for the Healthy Strides Foundation to in order to help other kids just like Teun.

On the 16th of September 2018 Brechtje will be running the Sydney marathon and will take this opportunity to raise funds for the Healthy Strides Foundation as well

Hereto we ask you to consider a donation to the Healthy Strides Foundation, which would be greatly appreciated by children who could use some extra help.

 healthystridesfoundation.com 

perthcitytosurf.com 

sydneyrunningfestival.com.au