A simple piece of specialist disability equipment will mean eight-year-old Millie Froggett can make the most of her limited mobility, boosting her confidence and supporting her health needs.
Millie, from Didsbury, has Central Core Disease so she can’t walk at all or stand without help. She spends much of her day in a wheelchair and because of this her hips and knees have a tendency to seize up, causing her pain.
Millie is able to use a specialist standing frame for 30 to 40 minutes each day at school to stretch her limbs and improve circulation and digestion, but she needs to be able to maintain – and increase – this at weekends and in school holidays.
Local statutory services will not fund similar equipment for Millie to use at home, so her family has turned to leading UK children’s disability charity Newlife Foundation for help to provide a £2,050 standing frame.
Her mum, Ina Vogelsang, said: “Using the static standing frame at school is Millie’s only real opportunity to stretch and stand. She really loves it when she is able to move herself, and the ‘dynamic’ standing frame we have applied to Newlife for will enable her to mobilise around the house and do different things at standing height.”
Ina added: “Millie enjoys movement – it boosts her confidence and means she can get more exercise to improve her circulation and digestion in a fun way.”
But with applications to Newlife Foundation at an all-time high, the charity is increasingly looking to ‘local heroes’ to help fund life-changing equipment for local children.
Newlife Operations Manager Stephen Morgan said: “Statutory services’ budgets all around the UK are being tightened, which means that without the support of organisations like Newlife Foundation many children will simply go without the specialist equipment they need to transform their daily lives. Applications are up 25 per cent on last year, so we are calling on ‘local heroes’ to donate or fundraise to help children with disabilities in their own counties or metropolitan areas.”
Newlife guarantees that 100 per cent of all monies donated or fundraised in Greater Manchester will be used to provide specialist equipment for local children. If you would like to help Newlife support Millie and other children with disabilities or terminal illness in the Greater Manchester area, the charity’s Community Fundraising team can be contacted on 0800 988 4640 (free from UK landlines) or by emailing fundraise@newlifecharity.co.uk. Alternatively, go to www.newlifecharity.co.uk/greatermanchester for more information about the Newlife Greater Manchester Fund and the 38 children in the area currently waiting for equipment. All support services can be accessed via the Newlife Nurse Helpline – 0800 902 0095 (free from UK landlines) or email nurses@newlifecharity.co.uk.
Pictured: Millie Froggett
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