Family’s American dream to get their son on his feet
Pictured at Home at Fulmer Road Hunters Bar, are the Burland Family, Dad Christian , Mum Jayne, & Their Son Alexander , aged five who who as cerebral palsy, they are raising �54,000 for an operation in America .
A SHEFFIELD family are aiming to fly to America in March so that their five-year-old son can undergo a life-changing operation.
Christian and Jayne Burland have raised just over £43,000 towards the £54,000 that will allow Alexander, who has cerebral palsy, to have specialist surgery on his spine.
The couple believe the procedure will eventually see him stand on his own two feet instead of being restricted to a wheelchair and have been busy fundraising, both by themselves and with family and friends.
Christian, aged 39, a builder, cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats and Jayne, aged 40, did a skydive.
More recently the charity Help a Child Have a Chance, which was set up after the untimely death in 2009 of Sheffield DJ Dave Kilner, helped the final push with a £2,500 cheque that was presented at a ‘Breakfast with Santa’ event at the Copthorne Hotel in Bramall Lane.
Then there is the £10,000 that has come from the Greek island of Mykonos where the Burlands have friends and which has been visited by Alexander.
The youngster was born on the island 10 weeks early weighing just over 3lbs.
He was in a neonatal intensive care unit in Athens for nearly two months, surviving thanks to modern medicine and a fighting spirit.
An MRI scan on his return to the UK revealed a brain injury, which caused cerebral palsy and limited his mobility. He cannot stand or walk unaided and finds many movements extremely difficult.
Before Alexander was even a year old physiotherapists told his parents that he would never crawl, sit without help or walk at all.
Yet seeing his happy and determined nature, Christian and Jayne, who live in Hunters Bar, were convinced he had potential which could be realised with the correct help.
Their research pointed them to the procedure in America called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy, which involves cutting the overactive nerves near to the spinal cord to reduce spasticity.
Family and friends have raised money to provide Alexander with therapy, equipment and support not available on the NHS and now the target is being neared that will take the family to America for at least one month from March.
“When we first heard about the surgery we thought we would never be able to afford it,” said Jayne. “Then a friend said you can do it if you stick at it.
“People have been so kind and helpful.”
Initially the aim was £50,000 but this has now been recalculated at £54,000.
Jayne said the evidence from more than 2,000 operations suggested Alexander would eventually be able to walk, perhaps with crutches – “like he had broken his leg” – and be able to put both both feet flat on the ground.
Alexander goes to Ecclesall Infant School and the Paces centre for conductive education at High Green.
“He’s always happy and he’s bright and really inquisitive,” said Jayne. “He doesn’t seem to let his condition affect him at the moment. He just gets on with things, like the other kids, and he loves school.”
The Burlands are determined to reach their American goal which they believe will open up Alexander’s life even further.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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