Meet the Kidz

James

Posted on March 25th, 2007

James is four years old and lives with his mum, dad and older brother in London.

James has Athetoid Cerebral Palsy. For James this means he has a lot of uncontrolled movements. He is able to walk short distances inside with the aid of a walker but has to be pushed in a manual wheelchair outside. Inside the house he mainly crawls to get around as this is easiest for him.

The family are very active and enjoy being outdoors together. James goes to watch his brother play football and would really like to join in with him. His favourite pastimes are going to the park, the cinema, bowling and swimming. …

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Joshua

Posted on March 25th, 2007

Joshua is five years old and is unable to stand or walk due to Spinal Muscular Atrophy. He is able to lift his arms at the moment but they will get weaker as his condition is progressive.

Earlier in life Josh progressed as any other child, but when he was fourteen months old his mum noticed that he wasn’t pulling himself up to stand or walk. This meant that his mum had to carry him everywhere which meant she had less time for Josh’s sister Megan. Their local NHS wheelchair service said they would not provide Josh with a powered wheelchair until he was five. Josh became increasingly nervous …

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Robert

Posted on March 25th, 2007

Robert is a 17-year old who loves sport and dreams of playing basketball for the Great Britain team at the next Paralympics.

Robert has Cerebral Palsy, a condition caused by brain damage that affects his movements, and for him means he finds it difficult to walk unaided. The wheelchair he had was too slow and heavy and it made it difficult for him to play properly.

Robert comments:

“My family are real sports fanatics. My twin brother, Matthew, plays basketball regularly for one of the top teams in the country and my Dad’s a basketball coach so I had always wanted to get involved in the sport”.

Whizz-Kidz provided Robert with the manual …

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Steven

Posted on March 25th, 2007

Steven is an outgoing teenager who loves football and his PlayStation.

Stephen, from Edinburgh, has Muscular Dystrophy which means he has weak muscles, constant back pain and is unable to walk.

His local NHS wheelchair service provided him with a basic powered wheelchair, but Stephen found it extremely uncomfortable as he was unable to change position to help ease his back pain. This meant attending school was very difficult as he could only stay in his wheelchair for ten minutes at a time before he needed to lie down.

Stephen needed a wheelchair that he could recline in but his local wheelchair service was unable to provide this. His family applied to Whizz-Kidz who provided him with a powered wheelchair with a …

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Gareth

Posted on March 25th, 2007

Gareth, from County Londonderry, is a lively thirteen year old who has Cerebral Palsy which affects his mobility.

The NHS provided Gareth with a basic manual wheelchair but he found it very bulky and difficult to manoeuvre. This meant Gareth didn’t have the freedom that every thirteen year old wants He got tired quite quickly and wasn’t able to keep up with his friends.

Gareth’s family applied for a lightweight manual wheelchair from Whizz-Kidz and following a visit by one of our mobility therapists, Gareth received his new wheelchair.

The difference to Gareth has been huge. His new wheelchair not only looks great, but it’s faster and easier to handle.

For Gareth this means he …

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