LAD NEEDS £3K MORE FOR VITAL OP
A BOY of five with brain damage has been told he can have life-changing surgery in the US.
The treatment for Oscar Sproxon, who suffers from quadriplegic spastic cerebral palsy, is not yet available on the NHS and his parents have to raise the final £3,000 to fund the £90,000 bill.
The condition affects all four of his limbs, leaving him unable to sit, stand or walk. It also prevents him from talking.
Mum and dad Emily and Aaron launched the Oscar’s Chance fund-raising drive in June last year and have now learned that their son – who takes large quantities of medication – has been accepted for a revolutionary op in St Louis.
Emily said: “We have raised £87,000 so now we just need £3,000 more to pay for the operation.
“The doctors think it could take place next March but it could be earlier if they get availability and so we’re trying to raise the final amount as quickly as we can.”
Oscar stopped breathing at birth, leaving him with brain damage, and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 18 months old. It is hoped that HIS song Mambo No5 was a sensation worldwide – yet for Lou Bega there was more than a little bit of sadness in his life as he topped every chart.
The singer today tells how his dad predicted he would finally have a hit with the song namechecking lovers Monica, Rita and Tina.
But sadly it was a prophecy from his deathbed.
Lou, 44, explains: “Dad was in hospital, weak from cancer, but I took a Discman in to play him a CD of it.
“I felt there was s omething special in that song and hoped it would raise his spirits. I played it on his deathbed and he looked up at me and said, ‘ This will open doors.’
“It was like he knew before the world what would happen. It was prophetic.
“It meant so much. He watched me struggle. He’d seen other songs and productions that didn’t make it.
“I was never the type to give up but I’d lost a bit of hope. When he said those words it was his endorsement and it encouraged me too.” the op will improve his balance in sitting, standing and walking as well as reduce his pain and make daily care easier for his parents.
The four-to-five-hour selective dorsal rhizotomy procedure is not a cure but is aimed at improving quality of life by reducing the muscle stiffness.
In preparation Oscar has had private physiotherapy sessions to make him as strong as possible.
Emily, from Hessle, East Yorks, said: “Oscar’s non-verbal but when we talk about going to America he gets really excited.” She and Just three weeks before the song was released, in July 1999, his father Charles died from a brain tumour.
Mambo No 5 (A Little Bit of...) – a remake of Pérez Prado’s 1949 instrumental – topped the charts around the world including 20 weeks at No1 in France.
German Lou bagged a Grammy nomination and the song was even used as theme tune to C4’s cricket show.
But two years later it was nearly all over for Lou too.
In 2001 – aged only 25 – he had a heart attack
“It was the wake up call I needed,” he said: “It was exhaustion mixed with flu. I hadn’t cancelled a gig for two years and only spent ten days at home. No one can live like that.”
But he survived and still sings his signature tune on TV around the world. He has j ust released new single, Scatman and Hatman, and a new album.
Lou denies Mambo No5 was sexist, saying: “It’s a cute little song, not crude or rude with bad language. The men and women are both enjoying the vibrancy of youth. I was no predator.
“The world’s changed on so many levels. As a 90s child I preferred my decade.” Aaron have held charity balls, cake sales and fun days.
They have also organised a virtual horse racing fund-raiser at a club in Hull on September 6.
Emily said: “The money we have raised covers Oscar’s operation and also accommodation for while we are in St Louis.
“His operation there will take a couple of hours and we will need to stay there for about six weeks until he can fly home again.”
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