Hello, Maella is 3 years old and has cerebral palsy.

His weeks are punctuated between physiotherapy sessions, psychomotility, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and balneotherapy. She goes to school 2 days a week in regular school. She is registered in swimming pool, practice pony and baby gym.

What a minister's schedule at 3 years old! But that's the price to pay for working motor skills.

Maella's cerebral palsy results in paralysis of her left hemoglobin. The right leg is also slightly affected. In order for it to mobilize its paralyzed members, it must be stimulated constantly and permanently.

The biggest problem for Maella today is spasticity . It is a reflex of permanent and involuntary contraction of the muscles of its paralyzed limbs. This reflex is painful and causes structural deformations (tendon, muscle, bone). Spasticity prevents Maella from walking properly. His orthopedic prognosis is already engaged. There is an inequality of length between the two legs of one centimeter. Maella walks on the tip of her left foot. She has no balance, stumbles very often ...

The only treatment proposed in France to Maella to fight against spasticity is botulinum toxin (botox) directly injected into the muscles. Maella undergoes these injections every 6 months since her 15 months. Like all treatments, the body gets used and has almost no effect today.

Cerebral palsy is the worst enemy of growth, the more Maella will grow, the more spasticity will increase.

However, surgery , the selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), is practiced in the United States to dramatically reduce or even suppress spasticity in the lower limbs permanently.

After studying Maella's medical file, Dr. Park, an American surgeon, agrees to operate on it. We had the chance to meet him and after having examined Maella, he recommends to operate it rather quickly. According to him, huge structural deformations are imminent. Without the SDR, walking will progressively decline until it becomes impossible in a few years.

So that Maella can recover a maximum of motor abilities, the surgeon also recommends an extension of Achilles tendon shortened by spasticity (PERCS)

Maella will be operated in April 2019.

• The cost of the SDR is US $ 39,745
• PERCS costs up to $ 12,951
• A deposit of 6500 USD is required for postoperative equipment.

That is a total of 59,196 USD not reimbursed by Social Security! To this is added travel, accommodation for several weeks, bank charges ...

Maella counts on your generosity to be able to continue walking, and even, better and better! Thank you.