NEVER GIVE UP
Mum’s battle to walk for charity ... spurred on by her little girl
A MUM who suffered brain damage while having her daughter has defied the odds to do a charity walk.
Doctor said Rachel Harry would be unlikely to walk, sit up or feed herself again but now the determined, wheelchair-bound mum has walked 400 yards, unaided, at her home.
Rachel’s delighted mum Karan, 62, said: “We’re incredibly proud of her and we never give up hope that she will continue improving and making progress.”
Rachel, now 40, had a heart attack during the birth of Freya in July 2012 after an undetected blood clot restricted oxygen to her brain.
The pandemic stalled Rachel’s intensive physio to learn to walk again and speech therapy but Freya continued to help her mum in lockdown.
And Freya, nine, encouraged her mum to complete the challenge outside the family’s home in Llywn Onn, Wrexham, to raise £410 for the nearby charity Clwyd Special Riding Centre. Karan said: “It’s an amazing achievement for Rachel and shows how much progress she is making. It’s almost 10 years ago that doctors told us she would probably never walk or talk again.
“The family suffered through the pandemic after carers were forced to limit her sessions. There was a long time with no therapies, where we were just trying to keep Rachel safe. It has been tough.
“And Freya has done a lot. She wasn’t in school as much during the first lockdown, so she was spurring her mummy on.
“She was encouraging her mummy to move and to walk, and Rachel was able to do a lot more with her.”
Freya said: “My mummy is special. I am teaching her to walk and talk.”
She added: “I want my mummy to be the same as all of my friends’ mums, so she can take me shopping and swimming.”