Soccer star backs the campaign to help Rebecca walk
MICHELLE RAWLINS AND ALAN SELBY
MACCLESFIELDBORN football star Peter Crouch is backing a campaign to help a disabled little girl to walk.
Wheelchair-user Rebecca Carey was born with cerebral palsy and her parents are trying to raise £80,000 to allow her to have Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy surgery in the US after being denied the op here.
Inspired by the sevenyear-old’s courage, the Stoke City player, 35, is inviting fans to a fundraising event at which he will talk about his career.
And he met with Rebecca, her twin sister Lottie and their mum Pam at The Britannia Stadium earlier this month.
The England ace said: “I just felt I had to do something.”
The family’s campaign has also won backing from national newspaper The Mirror and generous readers, friends and family have already donated £48,000.
Among those who have helped are Jean Ridgway and Rick Sherry from Macclesfield, who take Becca to and from school.
The pair, along with Becca’s family, were at Macclesfield Town FC’s home game against Guiseley on April 16 where a bucket collection raised £600.
Peter Crouch is offering to help by hosting a talk about his career for fans on July 8 with the aim of raising the remaining £52,000.
Rebecca’s mum Pam, aged 46, said: “The event has been put together by the Stoke City Old Boys Association. Terry Conroy goes to the same church as my mum. He read the original article in the Sentinel and put two and two together and said ‘right, we are going to sort something out’. Then he came back to us and said he had some good news and Peter Crouch was going to do a fund-raiser. We are eternally grateful to him.
“Peter has been amazing. We met him and he was wonderful.”
The Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy surgery should help drastically improve Rebecca’s quality of life.
Pam said: “Though Becca can walk in a frame, with a sling, and can roll and move around on the floor she has to be hoisted in and out of equipment when she is at school. She can only attend a mainstream school with her sister three days a week, she has to go to a special school the other days.
“We can’t thank Peter enough. It really means the world to us.”
Tickets are from john@ ruggiero. wanadoo.co.uk or donate at justgiving. com/beccaswishtowalk