Victoria will be 5 years old in June 2013. She has neuromuscular disorder which doctors at Great Ormond Street cannot diagnose yet. At the moment it is a mystery to the health professionals but they also said that it is untreatable life-long disorder. It affects her swallowing-liquids get into lungs instead of her tummy=risk of aspiration, her speech- at this age she can make only 4 sounds and needs special communication device to communicate with others, her walking and posture- she gets tired very quickly with a lower back pain, cannot keep up with her friends, falling over constantly due to loosing balance and so on. It also affects Victoria’s hips. She has DDH(developmental dysplasia of the hip) , the muscles do not support her joints properly and DDH got worse in the last 6 months. Victoria is on a waiting list for a surgery to correct the DDH, but it will not change her problem/difficulty walking and running.
Victoria is very happy, lively, gentle, always smiling little person. She has been a real warrior through her ordeals. She is very popular in her school and much supported by her peers.
But the difficulty she and we as a family face now is mobility. Victoria is very active, we love going outside to explore, travel in all terrains like hiking in the mountains. But being 5 years old she is outgrowing her regular buggies. At our last appointment the doctor proposed for occupational therapist to provide Vicky with a wheelchair. But it will be quite useless to us as it is very limited. I have checked out the buggies for special needs toddlers and for our life style was recommended Kangoo All Terrain Buggy which costs from £1,939 - £2,359 Exc. VAT. I have recently spoken with Victoria's OT and they also recommended Theraplay Terrier Trike which apparently costs almost £800. With Terrier trike Victoria will be able to ride her bike with her sister and friends in a park along them all by herself instead of being pushed around by her mother. It will give her more freedom and independence!
That is where the plea to help to fund these equipment is coming. Me, Jevgenija, the mother of Victoria, asking for help. Please help me to raise enough money to give my precious Victoria more freedom, independence and enjoyment of outdoors with a help of special needs buggy and a trike. Very BIG thank you to all of you for taking your time to read and help. It will be very much appreciated by both Victoria and her family.