Mum of Northampton girl with cerebral palsy urges fundraisers to pledge £100k to help daughter walk

Brave Kelis Broomes, of Marina Gardens, lost two thirds of her blood count when she was born back in 2013, which meant her body struggled to cope with the lack of blood cells.

As a result, the four-year-old could not efficiently carry oxygen around her body, leaving her with organ failure and brain damage.

Now her mum, Helen, is taking part in the London to Paris bike ride in July to raise funds for Kelis' £100,000 spinal operation - called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) at St Louis Childrens Hospital in America - and aftercare, which is not available on the NHS.

Helen said: "From only a few weeks old, I have done therapy with Kelis every day as her cerebral palsy affects her whole body. I've had to teach her everything through repetition as Kelis' brain does not automatically tell her body what to do and she can easily forget too.

"Unfortunately, the more she is growing and the more she's moving around the tighter the muscles in her legs are getting. Without this operation her muscles will eventually get so tight and painful that she will be in a wheelchair."

When Kelis was born back in 2013 she had two blood transfusions and was moved to Rainbows Hospice in Loughborough for end-of-life care after medics thought she would not survive when her life support machine was switched off.

Helen added: "We prepared to say goodbye to Kelis at 7pm. Then seconds, minutes then hours passed until it was 10am the next morning. The consultant was amazed but still felt it would be possible for Kelis to die within the next 72 hours, so she was transferred to Rainbows Hospice for end of life care. The staff were so lovely and did everything they could to make what they thought was Kelis' last few days with her loved ones magical.

"She was always held in someone’s arms and I even stayed awake through the night and cuddled her.

"Every morning at the crack of dawn I would take Kelis out in the beautiful gardens and we would just sit and watch the world."

Kelis soon defied all odds and went from strength to strength after five days at the hospice and was taken home to live with her family.

Helen has now set up a Just Giving page with Just4Children to help raise funds for her daughter.

She is urging others to get stuck in and help with fundraising ideas, too. Helen is contactable on [email protected]. If you want to donate, click: https://just4children.org/children-helped2017/keliss-mountain-climb/