Sophies Wish

This is Sophie she is 8 years Old, Sophie is such a bubbly, friendly, kind, caring and all round amazing little girl. Sophie was born 11 weeks premature and her first 8 weeks of life were spent in hospital. Sophie gradually got stronger and started growing but as she did we noticed Sophie having trouble walking when she was about 2years old. So after several doctors appointments, a 6 month wait for an MRI and another 6 Month wait for the MRI results Sophie was then diagnosed with Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy when she was 3 years old. At the time I had no idea what this meant but after years of going through it I think a diagnosis doesnt ever explain what the condition can do or what to expect, sometimes you just have to live with it to realise what it all means. There are many forms of Cerebral palsy but Sophie's CP effects mainly her legs and causes pain and tightness due to the spasticity. Sophie is now 7 years old, her condition has slowly been getting worse and deteriorating her health over the past few years. Even with all the physio, botox injections, splints and casts nothing has helped her. So for the past two years I have been researching other options for my little girl, I have spoken to Doctors, physiotherapists, other families and people who have CP and I kept hearing about SDR surgery. SDR surgery (Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy) is a spinal surgery performed on some children with Cerebral Palsy, the surgery improves mobility, reduces pain and relieves lower limb spasticity. I wasnt sure about SDR at first as it is such a major spinal surgery and we would have to travel to America for the surgery but after speaking to So many families and hearing their success stories I finally met with Dr Park (the surgeon in America) He told us that Sophie would really benefit from the surgery and after SDR we could expect her to be able to walk flat, her posture will improve, she will have more movement, she wont have any pain or discomfort, Sophie would be able to participate in more typical forms of exercise and most importantly SDR will prevent future deterioration.
We then had to apply for the surgery and after 3 months we got the news that Sophie has been accepted for this amazing life changing surgery in America and will hopefully undergo SDR surgery next year! With this great news comes alot of fear and pressure as we now have to raise €100,000 to cover the surgery and extensive physiotherapy afterwards so we explained it all to Sophie and she took it in her stride and said "let's do it". We have created Sophies Wish as it is Sophie's wish to be able to play and enjoy activities with her friends, to be pain free, to feel normal, and not have to use her chair for long distances and getting SDR surgery will make all of that possible for her. As a parent all I want is for my little girl to be happy and healthy so the aim is to get the funds to go to America for the biggest and best change of her life!

This surgery will change Sophies life, it will stop further deterioration & reduce spastisity. The surgery will improve Sophies movement and endurance, it will also allow her to be more active and hopefully be able to get involved in sports and activities like all her friends (which she wants more then anything) but most importantly it will save her from pain and discomfort!

We really appreciate all donations!
Every donation and any help we can get means the world to us as we have a long journey ahead of us!