Hey, I'm running the Great North Run in September to raise money towards a fantastic cause called 'Freya's Freedom'.  Please see Freya's story below, told by her parents.  Please remember, even a small donation could make a huge difference to a little girls future and I would be hugely grateful for your support:-

On the 10th August 2010 we were blessed with a beautiful baby daughter, our Freya! She was born by forceps delivery at 42 weeks and weighed a healthy 8lb 13oz. We fell in love with her immediately!

As the weeks and months went by we fell more and more in love with her but did become concerned that she was not reaching milestones that were expected. Not only that, but when she was 10 months old we expressed our concerns about the positioning of her feet. We had picked up on the fact her feet would tilt inwards when she was weight bearing.

She was referred to see a community pediatrician who told us not to be concerned and that she would grow out of it. “Maybe we’re just worrying about nothing,” I thought. Months passed and this continued and only seemed to get worse, and there was still no sign of Freya learning to walk. Again, we were told not to be concerned and to leave her until she was 18 months old before looking into it any further. Again, months passed by.

Freya was over 18 months old by this point and still nobody would take us seriously. Our little girl couldn’t walk and had noticeably deformed feet. We were told time after time by several medical professionals that there was nothing wrong with her. I would cry leaving appointments because I’d been made to feel like I was making a fuss about nothing when mother’s intuition told me something was wrong. Freya had tests, x-rays, mri scans and everything came back normal. It was so frustrating not having answers. She was seen by a physiotherapist on a regular basis but other than that we were left to our own devices.

Finally in April this year after being seen in Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, aged 3 years and 8 months our little girl was diagnosed with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, which they believe to be caused by a minor bleed I had at 30 weeks gestation. We were heartbroken, but at the same time relieved that we finally had answers.

Freya is an extremely happy, intelligent, strong willed, well loved and chatty little girl who has a zest for life and gives everything her best. She does everything with a cheery disposition and a smile on her face. CP doesn’t stop her giving her best to everything she does! We couldn’t be any prouder of her!

It’s a real struggle for her to walk unaided and she has very poor balance which causes her to fall over a lot, but with her “kaye walker” she goes like lightning and she has recently been given some funky pink afo’s which she doesn’t seem too keen to wear! She already has a fantastic quality of life but as her parents we feel she deserves more.

A few months back we came across an article about a doctor in St Louis who specializes in surgery specifically for the type of CP Freya has, and naturally it got us thinking. We did a lot of research, spoke to medical practitioners and other families who had been to St Louis and we were eager to know if Freya could possibly be suitable for this life changing surgery. We completed the applications and within 8 days we received an e-mail with a decision. It was a yes!

She has been offered the chance to go to St Louis, Missouri USA to have selective dorsal rhizotomy surgery which could potentially be life changing for her. We have also been advised that she will need to have a 2nd procedure to lengthen the muscles in her calves. The sdr surgery is on the spine and severs the nerves that cause the spasticity so this would be permanently reduced. It would improve her balance, her posture, her confidence and, not only that, the doctor predicts she will be left able to walk completely independently!

To see her do all the things most of us take for granted would be the best gift we could ever get; to see her walk, run and skip, jump in puddles, take her to a shoe shop and buy “normal” shoes, to ride a bike, to see her walk into school hand in hand with her friends rather than holding on to a walking frame and maybe one day throw those afo’s in the bin!

Freya deserves this chance so much but unfortunately we can’t get there without help. Money raised will go towards surgery and medical costs, 3 weeks of therapy following surgery, accommodation, flights and living costs for the 5 weeks we’ll spend in the US.

Should we exceed the target amount or if we do not raise enough funds, or if they cannot be used for any other reason, the funds raised will go to the general funds of Tree of Hope to assist other sick children .

We would be so grateful of any donations for Tree of Hope to help us change our little girl’s life.