Alan Hales
FLYING FOR FREDDIE
Fundraising for Tree of Hope
Story
On the 28th July, I'll be doing something I never thought I'd do, jumping out of a plane from 10,000ft. A sky dive was never top of the list, or even on any list of activities, I wanted to do as I approach my 60th next year. The reason for me taking on this challenge is my grandson Freddie, and I'll be doing this to raise crucial fundraising for his various therapies, via the brilliant registered children's charity Tree Of Hope.
Freddie has experienced more challenges in his short 3 1/3 years than most do in their lifetime. Due to a multitude of complications during his birth, Freddie's heart stopped beating 20mins before he was born and he was starved of oxygen for a long period of time. The drs didn't think he would survive but he proved them wrong. A few weeks later he was diagnosed with Grade 3 Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), which would cause him to have severe bilateral dystonic Cerebral Palsy.
Over the last 3 years, Freddie has overcome challenge after challenge but there still so many to come. Most recently, my son and his wife found out about a place called the NAPA Center in Los Angeles and Freddie went for his first intensive therapy there last month. It's a world renowned center for kids with neurological conditions. I didn't know what to expect but it was one inspiring place, and we were amazed to see how much Freddie improved in such a short space of time. We had been told that it's unlikely Freddie would be able to talk, but his NAPA therapist was teaching him how to make sounds (won't be long before he's asking for his gan gan) and had him communicating yes (by raising his hand) or no (by turning his head) in no time. His NAPA physios had him rolling over, activating muscles, doing assisted crawling and it was clear how much his core and limbs strengthened in the time he was there. He also did CME therapy, which he loved, and by the end of it he was showing better head control and balance than I've ever seen him do previously. Towards the end of the intensive, he was practising in a walker!
We spoke to other families at the NAPA Center and the ones who saw the biggest improvements and developments were the ones who would visit twice a year. Some had been going for years, and no one had a bad word to say about the place. I quickly realised how beneficial it was to continue with all the physio, speech and language and CME so Freddie could be given the best chance in life to improve and develop.
As well as going back to NAPA, there are so many therapies and equipment that Freddie needs to ever stand a chance of doing the things we all take for granted. These all cost a huge amount of money, and our families have had no choice but to fundraise in every way to make sure Freddie has the best chance of continuing to improve and overcome every challenge that comes his way.
Our family have thrown themselves into marathons, MMA fights, treks and all sorts, and for some reason, I've booked myself a sky dive. Sharon isn't happy with me and is not sure she will be able to watch lol! I think it will all be worth it though if I can raise loads of money for Freddie and give him a chance to go back to NAPA and continue getting lots of help here too.
So friends, please sponsor me if you can. I'll make sure to share the terrifying video after!
Alan (Fred's Gan Gan)
Ps for more info on Freddie, please visit www.freddiesstory.com
Freddie has experienced more challenges in his short 3 1/3 years than most do in their lifetime. Due to a multitude of complications during his birth, Freddie's heart stopped beating 20mins before he was born and he was starved of oxygen for a long period of time. The drs didn't think he would survive but he proved them wrong. A few weeks later he was diagnosed with Grade 3 Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), which would cause him to have severe bilateral dystonic Cerebral Palsy.
Over the last 3 years, Freddie has overcome challenge after challenge but there still so many to come. Most recently, my son and his wife found out about a place called the NAPA Center in Los Angeles and Freddie went for his first intensive therapy there last month. It's a world renowned center for kids with neurological conditions. I didn't know what to expect but it was one inspiring place, and we were amazed to see how much Freddie improved in such a short space of time. We had been told that it's unlikely Freddie would be able to talk, but his NAPA therapist was teaching him how to make sounds (won't be long before he's asking for his gan gan) and had him communicating yes (by raising his hand) or no (by turning his head) in no time. His NAPA physios had him rolling over, activating muscles, doing assisted crawling and it was clear how much his core and limbs strengthened in the time he was there. He also did CME therapy, which he loved, and by the end of it he was showing better head control and balance than I've ever seen him do previously. Towards the end of the intensive, he was practising in a walker!
We spoke to other families at the NAPA Center and the ones who saw the biggest improvements and developments were the ones who would visit twice a year. Some had been going for years, and no one had a bad word to say about the place. I quickly realised how beneficial it was to continue with all the physio, speech and language and CME so Freddie could be given the best chance in life to improve and develop.
As well as going back to NAPA, there are so many therapies and equipment that Freddie needs to ever stand a chance of doing the things we all take for granted. These all cost a huge amount of money, and our families have had no choice but to fundraise in every way to make sure Freddie has the best chance of continuing to improve and overcome every challenge that comes his way.
Our family have thrown themselves into marathons, MMA fights, treks and all sorts, and for some reason, I've booked myself a sky dive. Sharon isn't happy with me and is not sure she will be able to watch lol! I think it will all be worth it though if I can raise loads of money for Freddie and give him a chance to go back to NAPA and continue getting lots of help here too.
So friends, please sponsor me if you can. I'll make sure to share the terrifying video after!
Alan (Fred's Gan Gan)
Ps for more info on Freddie, please visit www.freddiesstory.com
