The team here at David Lloyd Poole are about to take on a 16km twilight toddle for Chester, a member here at our club.

This is Chester's story:

Chester was born 9 weeks early and spent his first 50 days in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where we learned that he had damage to the white matter of his brain. He was later diagnosed with Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy affecting all 4 limbs meaning his gross motor functions are severely impacted and he is a full time wheelchair user.

In addition, Chester has global development delay meaning learning both academically and socially is challenging for him. He currently attends a special needs school and requires supplementary, non-funded tutoring.

In 2021, we travelled to the US during lockdown for highly complex SDR surgery which we successfully fundraised for. The procedure was a success and since then, we have had to continue to pay for multiple weekly therapy sessions as part of Chester's ongoing rehabilitation post op. He has made fantastic progress but as he grows and his body changes, he has to work even harder and physical therapy is more important than ever.

Home life has also become more of a challenge as Chester has grown, with various home adaptations and equipment being needed to complete everyday tasks.

Having previously fundraised successfully for Just4Children to take Chester to the US for the previously mentioned SDR, we are continuing to fundraise for his ongoing rehabilitation and to ensure he has the best quality of life possible through specialist equipment needed at all stages. We continue to work towards as much independence as we can for Chester, who is a hard working and funny little boy, always with a smile on his face.