A four-year-old Walsall girl who spent most of the first two years of her life in hospital after being born without a fully functioning immune system is still facing a daily battle to get outdoors because her current wheelchair doesn’t meet her needs.
Macy Adams wears bulky braces to help straighten and support both of her legs as they are growing at an abnormal angle, putting her hips at risk of dislocating and causing a great deal of pain. X-rays also revealed deformed discs in her spine which will need surgery to add pins and plates when she’s older.
Exhausted and in agony Macy relies on a wheelchair to get around. But the basic model she has from the NHS barely accommodates her braces and the rigid frame doesn’t tilt, so she can’t sleep comfortably or raise her swollen legs. The family struggle to take her anywhere other than school or hospital.
Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children is urgently appealing to the local community to help fund a £1,763 specialist wheelchair that can simply be altered into different positions to keep Macy as comfortable as possible when she’s outside.
Mum Lucy said: “Weekly blood transfusions boost Macy’s immune system now so she can live at home instead of Birmingham Children’s Hospital, but she’s often exhausted and unwell. She has a lot to cope with and is in so much pain we have to give her morphine.
“Macy struggles to walk without help and often falls over, which is a huge infection risk. She quickly becomes so exhausted she has no other option but to use a wheelchair. She’s four now and too heavy for me to carry.
“We are really grateful for the NHS wheelchair we have, but it just doesn’t meet all of her needs. For example she can’t lie back to sleep or raise her legs. She’s so uncomfortable in it that she can’t tolerate it for long and we can’t go many places. She’s missing out.
“Macy’s development is behind, putting her at age two to three, possibly from being in hospital so long. We’d like to take her places other than school and hospital appointments to help encourage her progress, as well as to enjoy family time together with her dad, Dave, and nine-year-old sister Lily, but it’s really difficult.
“It’s especially hard at Christmas time as we just want to make those magical memories together. With this specialist wheelchair it would be possible and Macy would really have the chance to join in more activities. She could lie back and rest when she needs to and be really comfortable. She could experience so much more of life.”
Newlife’s Senior Manager for Care Services, Carrick Brown, said: “We know that having the right equipment at the time can be life changing for families with disabled children. Not only can it help reduce pain it can greatly improve their quality of life too – as we see here with Macy.
“Unfortunately, as much as we want to help Macy and her family, we simply don’t have the funds to buy the equipment right now.
“We are desperately appealing to the local community for help to raise the money so Macy can have the specialist wheelchair she urgently needs.”
STOP PRESS: Thanks to a great community effort and lots of media support we have now raised enough money for Macy’s specialist wheelchair.
However, you can still donate to help the other 66 children on our waiting list in the West Midlands who need £73,171 of specialist equipment. If you are able to help please call 01543 431 444, visit the website at https://newlifecharity.co.uk or email local@newlifecharity.co.uk.
