My daughter Mila was born with the most severe form of spina bifida, meaning her spinal cord hadn’t formed properly and her nerves were exposed outside her back. At just 23 weeks pregnant, I travelled to Belgium, where a team of 30 surgeons operated on us for six hours to repair her spine and place her nerves back inside. Although the surgery helped protect her long‑term health, it sadly did not improve her mobility.

Today, Mila is five years old. She has very limited movement from the waist down and spends most of her day in her wheelchair or crawling around the house, pulling her legs behind her. When she meets someone new, the first thing she says is, “Hi, I’m Mila, I can’t walk!” Hearing those words breaks my heart, because she longs to move around like other children her age.

At playgrounds, she can only sit and watch as other children run, climb, and play. Many places in London, such as the Natural History Museum, are inaccessible to her because the train stations aren’t suitable for wheelchair users. She can’t go to the beach unless I carry her across the sand, and as she grows heavier, this is becoming increasingly difficult. Even transferring into her wheelchair is a struggle, and physiotherapy exhausts her. She once managed short distances with her walker, but now she avoids practicing because she knows she cannot walk like her peers and the effort has become too much for her small body.

If I can raise the funds Mila needs, she will be able to use robotic legs—technology that would transform her life. These robotic legs support her body and assist with movement, making it far easier for her to take steps. They would give her the independence and freedom she dreams of, allowing her to explore, play, and feel more like a typical five‑year‑old. Crucially, they would also help her bones grow properly by enabling her to bear weight and build muscle strength. As Mila is still developing, this support is vital.

7.5% of all donations to Tree of Hope in relation to this appeal will be allocated to the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope to cover our core operating costs.

If we raise insufficient funds, or surplus funds, then the funds will be used, if appropriate, to fund support for our child’s needs in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objects. If in those circumstances we are unable to use all or part of the funds for the benefit of our child in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objectives, then any funds that cannot be used will be transferred to be used for the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope.