Keep Caitlan Bendy

Caitlan is a very confident, happy, active 14 year old. She is a very talented Karateka and Gymnast. She has excelled in both of these sports and has just graded to her karate Black Belt.

Caitlan suffers with ADHD and anxiety, so finds it hard to stick to anything for any length of time and leaves her with lots of insecurities.  This is why it so amazing that she has pushed herself to gain such an achievement in her Karate and become a Black Belt.  Her confidence has also been boosted whilst doing both of her activities and is part of the reason that she is the beautiful, bubbly young lady that she is today.
Caitlan has always been an active child having previously been a dancer in a dance school and with a drama company and also played the cat in an amateur musical theatre production of Dick Whittington( for which she was nominated for a NODA award).
Nothing phases this girl and she seems to have a fear of nothing (except spiders - not a lover of spiders) and is willing to give anything a go.

In May 2017, we were getting ready to go out, when I noticed that Caitlan had a shoulder blade sticking out more than the other.  At first I thought it was the angle that she was stood at, but on closer inspection, we realised that Caitlan's stance wasn't straight and her shoulders were uneven.  We had heard about the girl on Britain's got talent, who had scoliosis and needed surgery that would prevent her from dancing again.  We quickly made an appointment with the GP in order to help us determine whether this was anything to worry about.  After visiting the GP, they stated that they were not experts in this area but they did agree that her appearance wasn't quite right, and that we would need to be referred to the spinal unit to get a diagnosis.  We waited a long time for the referral and in the meantime, Caitlan's condition appeared to worsen.  When we eventually received an appointment for the spinal unit, almost a year later, Caitlan had started to get pain in her back, her posture was obviously uneven and her ribs had begun to stick out.  She was beginning to struggle with some elements of her Karate and gymnastics due to the pain and this made her miserable.
We eventually got to see the consultant who had x-rays done and confirmed the news we had been dreading all along.  Unfortunately, Caitlan has developed Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (abnormal curvature and twisting of the spine), which affects adolescents between the ages 10 - 18 and causes pain and discomfort, as well as making Caitlan self conscious due to her uneven appearance and small (for her age) size.  The consultant explained to us that anything over a 40 degree curve would most likely result in surgery.  Caitlan had a double curve at this point, of which the bottom was at 48.9 and the top was 59.8, therefore, devastatingly, surgery was the only option.  Bracing would be pointless as the curves were already advanced.  The Consultant confirmed that this surgery would mean that Caitlan would no longer be able to continue with her activities after the surgery as her flexibility would be compromised.  It would also mean that her quality of life would be lesser and the surgery would be so invasive that it would mean a lot of time of school and a long recovery period and no other contact sports for at least 12 months.
Surgery offered on the NHS means Caitlan having spinal fusion (metal rods screwed into her spine) meaning she will lose her flexibility and living, in effect, like a scarecrow.  However, there is other life changing surgery available called vertebral body tethering (VBT) which uses less restrictive measures using a flexible cord instead of a metal pole, meaning Caitlan would not lose as much of her flexibility and could carry on with the things she loves. This would also mean less time away from school and less general recovery time, as the surgery is less invasive and is performed with keyhole surgery.
VBT                                                                                                                                                                Fusion

This treatment was available on the NHS until around 18 months ago, but due to funding, it has been discontinued.  However, the surgery is still available in other areas, but at a tremendous cost.  Hence our decision to attempt to raise the funds.  We are trying to gain more publicity in order to reach people far and wide who can donate and help us raise the total to the amount we need.  The cost of the surgery is 47,000 Euros.  The surgery would take place in Germany under a surgeon called Dr Trobisch, whom we met back in May.  Dr Trobisch carried out his own x-rays to see the extent of the curves for himself and from doing this, discovered that in the 1 month time that had elapsed from her seeing the consultant in the UK to now, her curves had progressed, and both now sat at 71 degrees.  He has said that Caitlan is still a good candidate for the surgery, due to her bone maturity, but has also said that she has limited time to have the surgery, as when she stops growing, her bones will be too rigid to perform the surgery  effectively.  Therefore, he has booked us in for surgery in early November 2018. 
This means that we only have around 12 weeks from now to raise the funds to the required limit and we need your help.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5890921/Mother-tries-raise-45-000-daughters-spine-corrective-surgery.html 

As Caitlan's mum and family it is hard for us to imagine her not being able to continue the things she loves and is especially difficult after bringing her up for 14 years of her life, knowing this is something we cannot control. If there is even a slight chance of an alternative giving her the quality of life she deserves, of course we are going to take it.
The funds raised for this campaign will be for Caitlan to have the alternative treatment in Germany, which will allow her to keep her flexibility, therefore, keeping Caitlan bendy. Please donate as much or as little as you can and please share our story far and wide so that our little star can continue to shine and fulfil her dreams of competing for her country one day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKsC5M1aHrc&t=1s 

Lots of people have offered help and together we have managed to raise a small amount of the funds needed.  However, this has only reached around 5% of our total required.  So we are asking you for your assistance in helping us gain the publicity we need in order to get this to as many people as possible. Or even by holding sponsors of your own and donating funds to our cause.  Caitlan would be very grateful and it would help to keep the smile on this young lady's face. 
Please join all of the other supporters and help us in any way you can.

Thank you for listening to our story.