Spirit FM’S huge part in Chloe’s New Legs

Last month marked the seventh anniversary of Chloe’s New Legs campaign. Why did you need new legs?

I was born with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. This made the muscles in my thighs, legs and feet very stiff; it was difficult to walk, I got a lot of pain and had to use a wheelchair more and more. On May 7, 2013, I had an operation called selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), in Frenchay Hospital, Bristol. Some nerves in my spine were cut to reduce the muscle stiffness, help me to walk and reduce the pain in my hips and legs.

The operation wasn’t available under the NHS. How was your surgery funded?

My family promised me ‘New Legs’ on my 17th birthday! They shared my story with Spirit FM and ‘Chloe’s New Legs’ became the station’s fundraising campaign for 2013. They were brilliant! They launched the campaign in a live broadcast from my home then raised money and supported me right through the operation.

So you had huge support from the local community?

Fantastic support. Our target was £36,000 but with Spirit FM on board we raised a staggering £69,410! To give you an idea of some of what happened: Spirit FM ran a ‘Money Can’t Buy’ auction; Christopher Timothy was auctioneer at an art auction; Bognor Bike Club and Chichester High School for Boys did a sponsored bike ride; Apsley Shooting Ground held a Clay Shoot; Spirit FM’S Sally and Milly ran 7k in seven countries in seven days (777 legs for Legs) sponsored by over local 40 local businesses; Chichester Rugby Club, local entertainers, pubs, bands, shops and groups held an amazing variety of fundraising events. Many Spirit FM listeners also sent in personal donations. There isn’t enough space here to name everyone who helped, but I can never thank them enough.

Local media is important then?

Yes, yes, yes! It’s no exaggeration to say that Spirit FM changed my life by helping me to pay for this operation. We’d have really struggled to hit our funding target without them. The Observer was great support too, running regular updates on fundraising events and the progress I was making. It just felt like the whole community wrapped its arms around me. Local media is important for all sorts of reasons, but especially for campaigning and fundraising – Spirit FM and the Observer played a huge part in the Save St Richard’s Hospital campaign, for instance. Imagine this pandemic without our local hospital.

How has the operation changed your life?

Before the op I couldn’t imagine being where I am now. I have a job that I love, looking after children in a local nursery school, and I’m living independently in a flat in Chichester. Spirit FM raised so much money that we were able to change the lives of other children too. We created a Chloe’s Leg-acy fund that made substantial donations to help three other local children have this same operation.

Find the Save Spirit FM group on Facebook.

Chloe Jago the day after her operation seven years ago