Community Link Foundation
ASEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy is able to play out with his friends and sister after being bought a motorised scooter by Community Link Foundation.
Harry Halpin, who lives in Formby, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe muscle wasting condition.
His parents, Rachel and Gareth, have always done everything possible to make his early years as memorable as possible but recently he had started to feel anxious about not being able to play with his friends as much and his parents wanted to change that.
They started fundraising for a scooter with the help of family and friends and then applied to Community Link Foundation for a grant to help purchase it.
Harry’s muscles are weakening daily and he cannot walk for longer than 10 to 15 minutes without needing to be in his wheelchair.
There is no cure or treatment to stop this disease and by the time Harry is around 10 or 12 he will lose the ability to walk at all.
The disease will then spread to his upper body and he will lose arm function and breathing function and will end up on ventilation.
Rachel said: “The prognosis for Harry is very bad so we are trying to make these early years as memorable and as happy as we can.
“So far we have done this. But now Harry is becoming more tired and cannot keep up with his friends who are getting older.
“Harry has always enjoyed playing with his friends but as he is getting older his work load at school has got heavier and he is tiring more easily.
“He has slowed down and cannot keep up with his friends as well as he used to. This meant that he was staying indoors more, rather than socialising outside with his friends.”
Rachel applied to Community Link Foundation for funding to enable them to buy the motorised scooter so that Harry can still have his independence and keep up with his friends.
Dave Duffy, trustee and board member of Community Link Foundation, said: “As soon as we read the grant application about Harry, we knew we had to help him.
“He’s only seven years old and has to deal with so much that we wanted to do what we could to help him spend some fun time with his friends.
“We are so pleased that we were able to help and it’s only thanks to the generous support we get from people all year round that we were able to support Harry. We are so pleased to know that CLF has made such a difference to his life.”
Rachel added: “The scooter has changed Harry’s life; he is absolutely delighted with it.
“He wants to go into school again and he is confident and independent.
“He is playing outside again zooming round the playground.”
The family are holding a comedy bingo night to raise money to help Harry with his future needs.
It will be held at Formby Cricket Club on Friday, March 15.
For more information, search for Help Harry fight Duchenne on Facebook.