Norwich boy with cerebral palsey to get surgery thanks to fundraiser
Friends, family and colleagues raised ÂŁ40k for the potentially life-changing operation.
An eight year-old boy from Norwich will be able to have a potentially life-changing operation thanks to a fundraiser.
Kaiden was born three months early and has cerebral palsey, which limits the control he has over his arms and legs.
Despite all the odds Kaiden has overcome many challenges in his short life so far, but unfortunately didn't qualify for NHS funding for an operation which could help him to go even further.
His Mum, Michelle Freeman, said: "He's such a happy, smiley little boy.
"Anyone who knows him, just loves him."
Kaiden's parents discovered that a surgery called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) could help their son make even more progress.
It involved cutting the nerves around Kaiden's spinal cord, to reduce the tension on his muscles and improve his range of motion and functional mobility - which could leave him more independent.
Michelle, who is also mum to daughter, Alexi, adds: “It is a big operation, so we took our time to consider whether it was right for Kaiden.
"However, our dedicated team of consultants and physiotherapists at Alderhey children’s hospital all agreed that he would make for a very good candidate and gave the go-ahead on the procedure to take place towards the end of this year.
Unfortunately for Michelle and Gavin, Kaiden didn’t meet the right criteria for the operation to be funded by the NHS due to the severity of his cerebral palsy being too high.
This meant that Michelle and her family needed to fund the entire thing themselves, as well as all of the costs associated with Kaiden’s aftercare, including physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, strengthening therapy and specialist equipment.
That brought the total cost to ÂŁ40,000.
People were quick to rally behind Kaiden though with friends and family showing their support and quickly pulling together ÂŁ11,130.
And Michelle's colleagues at the CarShop also stepped up without a seconds thought.
Not only did colleagues of Michelle's donate to the fundraiser, the company's CEO encouraged stores to arrange fundraising events and offered to match any money raised by employees.
Small events such as 'chocolate Fridays' were held, where employees could treat themselves with money being donated to the pot.
As a result, the CarShop managed to raise a total of ÂŁ14,064, which when matched came to just over ÂŁ28,000.
Once added to the amount from Kaiden's fundraising page, they fell just ÂŁ739 short of the total needed for the operation.
So CarShop rounded up the amount they contributed to reach the grand total of ÂŁ40,000.
CarShop’s CEO, Nigel Hurley, said: “When we heard about what Michelle and her family were going through, we knew we wanted to help. We’re a family at CarShop – and when one person is in need, everyone rallies.
“Over the course of this time, everyone has come to know about Kaiden, his bravery and his unwaveringly positive outlook on life – in fact, he’s become quite famous for it!
"That’s why I couldn’t be happier that this special little boy is now able to receive the life-changing surgery he needs to live a happy, successful and independent life.”
Michelle added: “Myself and Gavin are completely overwhelmed. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who gave up their time or donated their hard-earned money to ensure our Kaiden has the life he deserves – to my brilliant family and friends, my exceptional colleagues, and everyone else who did what they could.
“Thank you, also, for helping us to raise awareness of this severe form of the cerebral palsy condition. There are so many others out there – just like Kaiden – who could benefit from this SDR surgery, and either don’t know of it or it’s not accessible to them due to financial constrictions, so please help us again in spreading the word.”