Brave Grace, 3, able to play freely for the first time after The Sun on Sunday gets her a new lightweight wheelchair
LITTLE Grace Catt will soon be able to play freely for the first time in her life, thanks to The Sun on Sunday.
The three-year-old had life-changing NHS treatment for a muscle-wasting condition but struggled to manoeuvre the heavy wheelchair provided by the service.
So The Sun on Sunday has arranged for her to get a lightweight version that will give her the freedom to play almost unhindered.
Last night Grace’s dad Luke, a 33-year-old mortgage adviser, said: “Thank you to The Sun on Sunday.
“It’s perfect timing, as Grace is about to start pre-school and it takes away a lot of the worries, knowing she’ll have as much independence as we can possibly give her to start the next phase of her life.
“Because she has advanced so well after the treatment, if she trains herself, her muscles will get stronger and stronger.
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“And with this new chair we know she can propel herself and go from room to room without any issues.”
National charity Whizz-Kidz this week revealed that around 75,000 youngsters in the UK need a wheelchair to be mobile, but many do not get one from local services that fully meets their needs.
Whizz-Kidz works with young wheelchair users and their families to provide the correct wheelchair or equipment for them.
And disabled children’s charity Newlife strives to get the right equipment at the right time to children who need it.
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After a Sun on Sunday appeal, Newlife told us about Grace and how her parents Gemma and Luke, who now work part-time to care for her, were struggling to afford the £3,300 lightweight replacement she needed.
Barmaid Gemma, 35, told us: “We never expected her to be as independent as she is now.
“She can do things for herself, and with the lightweight wheelchair she will be able to follow me around the kitchen, help me with the washing and have her independence, which is so important.
“We want her to be able to do everything she possibly can within her limits.”
Grace was diagnosed with type-one spinal muscular atrophy at four months, a rare genetic condition that causes muscle weakness and breathing difficulties.
There is no cure, and without treatment her life expectancy was just two years.
Grace was put on a clinical trial for a drug which did help, then last summer gene therapy medication Zolgensma was approved for use on patients, and Grace was one of a few children to receive it.
Luke, from Tupton, Derbys, said: “We are still only five months in, but her fine motor skills are so much better, like holding a pen and playing with Lego.”
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Mum Gemma said: “The NHS’s care of Grace has been absolutely incredible and there are no words to express the depth of gratitude we feel.
“Without this treatment she couldn’t have done as much as she is achieving.
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“It’s the closest thing we have found to a cure and we have noticed such a difference with her.”
Newlife’s Campaigning and Public Affairs Manager Clare Dangerfield said: “Thanks to The Sun on Sunday, Grace will now receive her wheelchair soon and she can continue to make the most of her life.”