Family put best feet forward for charity

Mar 25 2009 by Jonathan Geddes, Rutherglen Reformer

A BURNSIDE family have managed to raise over £5000 for a cerebral palsy charity.

The Collie family were inspired to take action because their four-year-old daughter, Rachel, suffers from the condition and has to walk with the aid of a frame.

And the Collies decided to take part in a sponsored walk throughout Strathclyde Park to raise money to give to Bobath Scotland, who help to fight the illness.

According to the girl’s mum, Sharon, the family were thrilled to at the amount they managed to raise.

She said: “Rachel's Auntie Tricia was the driving force behind the fundraising effort and organised nine of our family and friends to undertake the walk which raised a total of £5025.18.

“It was amazing, we never thought we’d manage to raise that amount of money.

“Rachel and her twin sister Louise are four years old. They were born 12 weeks early and spent nine weeks in hospital. Rachel walks with the aid of a frame and she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when she was 8 months old.

“Rachel was there to start the walk off and next year we are hoping she will actually do the walk herself, or at least a good bit of it.”

Sharon insists that her daughter, who presented the cheque to Bobath herself, has coped well with the difficulties that cerebral palsy brings.

“She’s still a very independent girl, and very bubbly. She wants to do everything that her sister does, and she wants to be able to stand on her own in the future.”

And Sharon praised Bobath for the help they’ve given her daughter.

She added:”Rachel has attended Bobath for two, six week block sessions which she thoroughly enjoyed and it has given her and us hope for Rachel's future - to improve her life and to realise her full potential.

“They’ve been excellent, and have really helped her.”

Taking part in the walk were her dad David Collie, her aunt Tricia Reid, her sisters Susan Kelly and Jennifer Collie, her uncle Paul Docherty, aunt Claire Wilson, Sharon’s uncle Harry McKernan and family friends Debbie Barr and Karen Taylor.

Sharon added: “ The walk was roughly about five miles but David and Susan did 10 miles!”

All the cash raised will help Bobath Scotland, who offer specialist knowledge about to analyse the child’s skills and suggest ways of enhancing their abilities.

More than 600 children have attended the centre, with no charge passed on to the families.

Cerebral palsy is a general term that describes a group of conditions that cause movement problems.

It is caused by brain damage which occurs either before birth, around the time of birth or within the first two years of life. It affects approximately one in every 500 children.