Give Lincoln Back His Firsts! Mobility Independence for Life

This is Lincoln, a very switched-on and incredibly positive seven-year-old. He said the other day he wished his legs worked just a little bit better. Please help us enable him to have the surgery to do just that. He needs SDR surgery, which is not funded through the NHS, and we need to raise £22,000 to enable him to have the procedure. Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) is a surgical procedure that aims to reduce spasticity in the lower limbs.

To him, it’s just “a little better” because, even at such a young age, he is so humble. But the reality is, it can give Lincoln back some of the firsts he missed out on as a young child.

Lincoln has scan-negative diplegia cerebral palsy, which means that he has weakness and stiffness in the leg muscles. He can only walk short distances, is unsteady, often falls, and fatigues easily. He also experiences muscle spasms and, although he has a high pain threshold, lives daily with pain. This surgery can give him the independence to self-care, not live in pain, get around more, do more, and achieve his full potential. With his attitude, the sky is the limit. You can help change his life!

Spasticity is the result of abnormal communication between the brain and the nerves. SDR is effective in treating spasticity by cutting the nerve rootlets in the spinal canal that are sending abnormal signals to the muscle. In Lincoln’s case, it is not funded through the NHS, and we need to raise £22,000 to enable him to have the procedure and the intensive month-long physiotherapy recovery post-op.

Our hearts break reflecting on the lost firsts. As parents, we can take for granted the first time a baby sits independently or finds the joy of independent play, but for Lincoln, it didn’t happen as it should. When does a baby start to crawl? Botox and physiotherapy at the age of nearly 1.5 years old had to be given to give Lincoln the range to be able to do it. This meant MRI scans, day surgery, and hours of work.

“When were his first steps?” a well-meaning family member might ask. There was no magic moment for us or Lincoln. No wobbly first steps launching him into his second year of life—he was still finding his feet at four! Almost before starting reception, he needed walking aids. Again, more day surgery, serial casting, AFOs, daily physiotherapy, and medical appointments were required.

Help him stop living a life of expectation vs. stark reality. His reality can be so much better, and we can change it for him!

As a mum or dad, did you think you’d be retiring the pushchair for a wheelchair for your two- or three-year-old? We didn’t. Did you get your child to sleep through the night, or do they still wake due to pain at the age of seven?

Simple things like paddling in muddy puddles or in a stream—he’d fall and be soaked. Running off to the play area to play with friends of his own age took years longer than it should. Who wants their mum still helping on the climbing frame at seven? Riding a bike—we got the balance bike and the first bike with stabilizers in the mere hope he could do it, only to give them away and buy a vastly expensive adapted bike. Bouncy castles and trampolines in the first five years? Forget it—his legs couldn’t do it.

Lincoln loves the water and has learned to swim in his own adapted way, but the stiffness in his legs prevents him from kicking his legs, only managing little flicks.

He loves to try and kick a ball, tenaciously working at it, but having a little kickabout with his dad rather than with his mates due to his lack of range and stiff and painful legs.

The upshot is that, despite all this, he’s hit a lot of new ‘Lincoln’ milestones—not in a conventional way, but he has come further than we would have thought when we were initially told he might not walk!

This operation won’t just change his physical outlook but his mental and social wellbeing too. The world is much more inclusive than it used to be, but he still doesn’t get to do everything he so desperately wants to, or should be able to, if he chooses.

If we can raise this vital money, we will together propel Lincoln to reach for the stars.

Enable him to carry a glass of water from A to B without spilling it. Attend a school trip or get through a day at school without acute fatigue. Go to high school and get between classes with more ease. Take public transport with fewer concerns. Fall over less and not injure himself. Play and keep up with his friends and be included. Build wider friendship groups. Such small things, but when your reality is you can’t do them, they mean the world and could change Lincoln’s world.

He’s never let anything get in his way—imagine what he could do with your help!

Please help us—we can’t do it without you. Thank you.

ENDS

General Info

Please note we are using Tree of Hope for the bulk of the fundraising because, with a charity number, eligible Gift Aid of 25% will be allocated to our fundraising. With a charity number, we can approach businesses for charitable donations. Corporate businesses can consider us for donations and match funding.

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.

If you would like to fundraise for Lincoln, use our charity page as your nominated charity of choice. Please support us and let us know how we can help.

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