A six-year-old north Norfolk girl is celebrating the arrival of her new motorised wheelchair – bought as the result of a flood of donations including an anonymous £8,000 windfall.
A six-year-old north Norfolk girl is celebrating the arrival of her new motorised wheelchair – bought as the result of a flood of donations including an anonymous £8,000 windfall.
Cerebral palsy sufferer Edith Creasey can now dash through the woods with her big brother and take part in family trips to the beach near her Sheringham home.
'It was all very emotional,' said mum Ruth, 'I felt close to tears at times. We have got it in time for the summer holidays, something we never dreamed would happen.'
Edith's story began in April when her parents launched an appeal to raise £15,000 for a new chair which would allow the youngster the freedom she longed for.
With a vast challenge in front of them, dad Sean, 40, who is head chef of the Dun Cow in Salthouse, said he had considered re-mortgaging the house or borrowing money on credit cards to pay for the chair. But after several weeks, friends, family and the community began to raise money for Edith, bringing in thousands of pounds.
Mrs Creasey, 37, said: 'Every penny made such a difference. We had children making things to sell. I had people donate their pocket money. Those things were just amazing. Lots of people see her out and about and wanted to help. It really felt like everyone was behind us.'
The family kept fund-raisers updated, adding videos to a Facebook page created to spread the Edith's Wheels appeal.
The Sheringham Primary School pupil continued to capture people's hearts until one day – two months in – an anonymous donation of £8,000 appeared on their Just Giving page.
Mrs Creasey said she was blown away by the generosity of everybody, including the mystery donor.
She said: 'I want to say a proper thank you to everyone, it was a real community effort.
'Everyone at her school was really generous, including a donation for £1,000.'
The whole of north Norfolk rallied round, with Blakeney Old Wild Rovers, Holt Farmers Club, charity horse races and sponsored bike rides bringing in much-needed funds.
And the family smashed the target just three months after launching the appeal - reaching more than £17,500 and enabling extra money to be put aside for maintenance.
The life-changing Australian-manufactured chair allows Edith to travel on most terrains, and will see her through to adulthood.
'When kids play they like to go all over the place,' said Mrs Creasey, 'the chair is giving her the freedom to go where she wants and make decisions for herself.'
Edith, who has a brother Adam, nine, had a double-hip operation last year.
She was born 10 weeks premature and suffered a serious bleed on her brain, resulting in extensive brain damage.
Although it had no effect on her speech or cognitive abilities, Edith is unable to sit without straps and cannot walk.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here