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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 Josh became increasingly nervous and withdrawn and could not play with other children his own age. The family simply couldn’t afford to buy a new wheelchair – that’s when Joshua’s family applied to Whizz-Kidz.
One of Whizz-Kidz’ mobility therapists went to assess Joshua and within eight months he received a ‘Hippo’ powered wheelchair, which has totally transformed both his and his family’s lives. His wheelchair is designed to go indoors and outdoors and has a special riser facility. He posted a letter on his own for the first time and is now able to keep up with his older sister, switch lights on and off, play at the kitchen table and move around on his own and go where he wants to go. He is much less demanding on his mum and is so much happier now he has his independence.
As his mum says:
“The difference is tremendous. Not only did Whizz-Kidz help us financially, but they’re always at the end of the phone ready to give advice. We can all take part in family activities now which we couldn’t do before. It’s lovely to see him chasing Megan and they’ve become much closer since he had his new wheelchair. He’s a completely different child with a great sense of humour and thanks to Whizz-Kidz, he’s able to do all the things most children take for granted.”
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