Thank you for visiting Oona's page. Oona is a bright, loving, and fearless ten-year-old girl with a neurological condition. She was born with an incredible drive to achieve and live life to the fullest. These days, Oona uses a little blue wheelchair, but her very first wheelchair (at age 3) was red—hence the name of this page!

We are looking for support to provide Oona with:

- All-terrain equipment to help her participate in outdoor pursuits.

- Improvements to her wheelchair to give her greater freedom of movement.

- Specialist orthotics to reduce the strain on her legs, making transfers easier and allowing her to continue using a walking frame indoors as she grows.

- Additional physiotherapy to maintain and improve her strength.

The Story So Far...

Oona is a chatty, intelligent, and kind-hearted little girl with big ambitions. She loves music and acting but, most of all, swimming.

Oona is an active, independent wheelchair user. While she finds some tasks that others do easily quite tricky, she puts in an incredible amount of effort to accomplish everything she sets her mind to. Her determination is 100%, every time.

Oona’s body responds very well to therapy. In her early years, she endured ten surgeries on her jaw, hips, legs, and feet. She also spent a couple of years with both legs in plaster from her toes to her armpits. Despite these challenges, Oona never let the bumps in the road get her down.

In 2020, Oona had the opportunity to learn to swim on a course designed for disabled children. She quickly became skilled and deeply passionate about swimming. Even though no one else in the family is particularly sporty, it was immediately clear that Oona had found her own path. Swimming transformed her priorities and her view of herself.

Now, Oona trains with the Lothian Racers swimming team and has competed in several Scottish National Junior Championships, earning medals in breaststroke, backstroke, and front crawl. Swimming has been a tremendous boost to her self-esteem, strength, and overall well-being.

As Oona grows, it’s becoming harder for her to use her walking frame because her legs are getting heavier. We want to help her continue using it as much as possible, as this will make her life easier in the long run. To give her the best chance, Oona needs lightweight equipment and ongoing physiotherapy, beyond what is available through the NHS.

You can find the latest videos and updates about Oona on her Facebook page: @LittleRedWheelchair.

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.