CROWDFUNDING MISSION
Parents try to raise £162K for three-year-old’s MS treatment
The family of a young cerebral palsy sufferer are on a mission to help their little girl live her life to her full potential and are asking our readers to help them make it possible.
Three-year-old Ivy Rose Summers needs to raise £162,000 for groundbreaking treatment in America and dedicated parents Sky and Stephen are determined to watch their little girl excel.
The couple have set up a fundraising page and are hoping the generosity of the public will help them reach their target to allow little Ivy to receive the treatment they believe she deserves.
Ivy was born two months premature with Sky and Stephen left heartbroken by the diagnosis.
After a traumatic time – 12 months earlier the couple had twins, Xander and Sandy, who died after being born premature – the Shotts family have learned to help manage Ivy’s condition.
But now Sky wants to do more than manage her daughter’s cerebral palsy and can only do so with the financial backing from a crowdfunding page.
She said: “It still rocks me to this day when I think about the diagnosis.
“But I told the doctor at the time when he said that brain damage can’t be helped that I didn’t accept it.
“I was on a mission and I’ve made some great connections, which will allow us to go to America.
“But we can only do this by raising the money for the expensive treatment which will last six months.
“The NHS over here can’t provide some of the therapies that can help Ivy reach her potential.
“We don’t want to just manage her cerebral palsy we want to make her better and help her grow as a person.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Ivy. I’m blessed she is so happy, so affectionate, intelligent and funny but she is excluded from everywhere in life.
“Exclusion is a horrendous part or a child with cerebral palsy.”
Sky, 36, admits she has been flat out with trying to organise everything for Ivy’s crowdfunding as well as being her carer 24 hours a day but believes they were left with no choice but to try America.
Over in the States, treatments include sensory therapies including working with horses, special suits and trapezes amongst other techniques.
In Britain, Ivy only gets the chance to have physiotherapy and Sky said: “It’s great we get that from the NHS but to be honest it’s not treatment, it’s just trying to manage it.
“I would love to be able to smash the £162,000 target and then with the excess money we could hopefully try and bring some of these treatments across.
“I’ve not been sleeping because I’ve got too much on but there’s nothing I want more than to help Ivy reach her potential. She’s my only daughter and after losing Sandy and Xander I will do everything I can to help her.
“We’ve reached out to about 50 or 60 businesses to try and help us and we’ve had support from Arnold Clark and Tunnocks so far.
“But to reach £ 162,000 we need help from so many people and we’re grateful for any donations.”
To donate to Ivy’s cause go to www. justgiving. com/ crowd f u n d i n g / ivyrosesummers.