Two years ago my godson, Jasper, suffered the life-changing setback of paraplegia. He needs long-term specialist physical therapy in order to ensure that he develops to the best of his potential despite his injury.

Jasper, now aged three and a half, charged through his first eighteen months with barely a cough. He then contracted ‘hand, foot & mouth’ virus at a Halloween party. No big deal, every kids gets it, right? He was poorly for a week and that was that. But… no, in very rare cases (lightening strike odds) the virus incubates and later attacks vital organs. In Jasper's case it was his heart. Just after Christmas 2014 his heart stopped and he was put on full life support (ECMO) for two weeks. During this precarious time he suffered a spinal stroke which left him with paralysis in his legs, and rendered him unable to stand or walk.

This life-changing diagnosis, after exploring what the NHS could offer Jasper in the UK (or lack thereof), led to his parents swiftly looking at groundbreaking spinal rehabilitation being carried out in at a hospital in Louisville, Kentucky in the US (hometown of Muhamed Ali and KFC). Kate, Jasper and baby Elliot spent 14 months there with Jasper receiving therapy twice a day. There he received a cutting-edge type of physical therapy which is proven to promote permanent recovery of muscle function in people with spinal cord injuries. Not only does it help him to regain use of his muscles, it helps his bones to grow properly, which is a major concern for small children who cannot walk. Since starting the therapy he has regained significant, measurable function in his lower back, abdomen and upper legs, and can even peddle a modified tricycle uphill!

Jasper is now back in the UK and attending, five times a week, the recently opened Neurokinex therapy centre near his home in Reigate. The centre is part of the world-renown Christopher (aka Superman) and Dana Reeve Foundation's Neurorecovery Network, the first of its kind outside of the US. The centre follows the pioneering rehab methodology of the hospital Jasper was at in Kentucky and through an amazing
bit of serendipitous good fortune he is paediatric patient number one.

The real kicker is a financial one - the centre is private. His parents have to pay out of pocket, and no, regrettably nothing remotely similar is provided by the NHS, nor will this be something that is likely to change soon. We have to act on Jasper’s behalf now and continue his rehabilitation therapy in order to maintain any hope for further improvement and the possibility of life without a wheelchair.

The walk will benefit Jasper by helping to cover his out-of-pocket spinal cord injury physical therapy costs, and will go towards his larger fundraising goal. 20 May also happens to be Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Day! Jasper has made significant progress over the past two years and we need to keep it going so that perhaps some day he can make this walk on his own, without wheels. 

http://www.treeofhope.org.uk/jasper-thornton-jones/ or search for @jaspersjourneyuk on Facebook

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 objects, then any funds that cannot be used will be transferred to be used for the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope.