Nine-year-old Chloe Dudley from Bishop Monkton is in constant pain as her spine has become severely twisted and her hip is no longer in place. She urgently needs specialist seating to help her find the relief she needs and prevent her condition becoming worse.

Chloe’s mum, Liz, said: “Chloe isn’t able to walk, talk or sit up and has over a hundred seizures most days. She can’t lie on the sofa or the floor and even her wheelchair is no longer suitable for her. With a P Pod we would know that she isn’t in pain and it is padded enough to keep her safe when she has seizures. It would help give us family time together which is important as we don’t know how long Chloe will be with us for.”

Chloe has extremely weak and floppy muscles, spina bifida and a severe form of epilepsy which causes her to have constant seizures. The issues with her spine have developed over the past six months, quickly becoming severe, but the P Pod she needs to help relieve her pain costs £2,137.

In desperation, Chloe’s parents, Liz and Pete, turned to Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children for help who are the largest UK charity providing equipment for disabled and terminally ill children. Newlife has already raised £712 to help Chloe receive the P Pod, but local heroes are needed to help raise the outstanding £1,425.

Liz added: “Chloe’s sister, twelve-year-old Phoebe, is fabulous with her and they adore each other. A P Pod means they could spend time together as sisters should be and Chloe would be included in things like baking in the kitchen or eating as a family around the table. It would be lovely for them and it would help Chloe make the most of her time she has, while being pain free as much as possible.”

Right now, Newlife has 11 disabled and terminally ill children in North Yorkshire in need of specialist equipment and must raise £10,989 to help them. Newlife has already supported 327 children across North Yorkshire.

Newlife’s Head of Charity Operations Stephen Morgan says: “We really want to help change the lives of these children and their families, so we are calling on local individuals, groups, clubs and companies to get involved and support them too.”

Any funds raised above what is needed for Chloe will be used to help other disabled and terminally ill children in North Yorkshire

Stephen added: “Without this help, many will sadly go without.”