Hi, I'm Doctor Robert Sayers. The three young people in the photo you can see standing next to me are my children.

 

We are avid hill walkers about to take on the challenge of climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo. We are undertaking this challenge in the hope of raising funds to help a little boy with Cerebral Palsy called James O'Hagan go to America for an operation to help him walk.

 

James is a patient at my surgery in Worthing, West Sussex. When he was just 8 weeks old James had a heart attack and died. Although he was later resuscitated at Worthing Hospital his parents were warned he had little chance of making it through the night. Somehow he did and today is a typical 5 year old boy – cheerful, bright, inquisitive and mischievous. 

 

James’ greatest difficulty is walking. He currently uses two sticks or a frame and can only manage very short distances. However, thanks to surgery pioneered and perfected in America James now has the chance to walk independently. If all of us involved in James’ appeal can raise £60,000 he can go to St. Louis in Missouri for an operation called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR), a procedure that will prevent his nerves carrying the messages to his muscles which causes them to stiffen.

 

The surgeon in St. Louis has performed over 2,000 operations and enjoys a 100% success rate. He believes if James has the operation he has the chance to walk independently in all environments.

 

Myself and my three oldest children are therefore going to climb Mount Kinabalu and are seeking sponsors in support of James’ appeal. Our 3 day climb will be our greatest test yet encompassing a trek through tropical rain forest, night-time rock climbing and the possibility of altitude sickness as we rise to Kinabalu's summit of 13,435 feet. We're reliably informed that our descent, which will take in parts of the mountain normally out of bounds to anyone but experienced mountaineers, will be tougher still.

 

If you would like to sponsor our challenge all you need to do is click on the donate button in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. It will take less than 5 minutes for you to donate and in doing so make a lasting difference to an extraordinary little boy.

 

Important note to donors: As long as James requires the funds raised to pay for treatment in the United States, Caudwell Children will manage all payments of funds for the family. Should there come a time, for whatever reason, that James no longer requires the funds raised for medical treatment and living expenses while in America then the monies raised will be used to provide similar donations to sick and disabled children living within the UK through the charity, Caudwell Children.