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Disabled 9 year old needs
your help
9 year old Liam Kost from Garston in
Liverpool has a degenerative condition that affects his muscles. He needs a
specialist wheelchair to maintain his independence and health; and a leading
children's disability charity is calling on:- ‘local heroes' to help make this
happen.
If you would like to support Liam, go to the Newlife
website and
click on the Donate button next to his story. The equipment costs:- ₤4,518. Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children is the UK's largest charity provider
of specialist equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness and
has supported 631 under 19's across Merseyside.
Liam has the life limiting condition Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy which is
gradually affecting his ability to walk and move. He is still able to take a few
steps around the family home, but needs a wheelchair to mobilise outdoors and at
School. He currently has a manual chair, but Liam can't self propel this;
because it is too heavy; and has to rely on family, friends and school staff to
push him around, which means he misses out on a lot of fun. It also means he
isn't exercising his arms and chest muscles.
Local wheelchair services have offered Liam a fully powered wheelchair, but his
physiotherapist and care adviser at Alderhey Hospital are both concerned that
this would have a negative impact. Mum Manuela Kost said:- "It is
important to Liam's overall health that he remains as active as possible for as
long as possible. What he really needs is a power assisted self propelling
wheelchair. He would have to use his arms to get it going, but the power assist
feature would help him get around. It means he could play independently with his
friends in the School Playground and at home, but still be getting health
benefits. Unfortunately, this equipment is not available locally. Having this
sort of wheelchair would really boost Liam's independence. It would also mean we
could all go out and about more as a family; it is very tiring pushing him over
long distances, partly because of the weight of the wheelchair, but he is quite
a big boy because he is taking part in hospital steroid trials for his
condition."
The cost of the equipment:- ₤4,518; prompted the Kost family to turn to Newlife
for help. However, with UK wide statutory funding cuts resulting in a 64% increase in applications to Newlife over the past 5 years, the charity
is more reliant on public support than at any time in its 25 year history.
So Newlife is looking for ‘local heroes' to help fund this vital
equipment. You can click on the
website or
alternatively, contact the Newlife Supporter Relations Team on:- 01543 462777 or
send an
email.
Any money raised over and above what is needed for Liam will be used to provide
specialist equipment for other disabled and terminally ill children on
Merseyside. The charity is currently working with a total of 34 families in the
area with equipment needs totalling:- ₤17,190. 100% of all donations goes directly
to provide equipment. |
