The family of a wheelchair-bound north-east schoolgirl have hailed the generosity of the local community after their dream of a life-changing operation became a reality.
Isla McNab will travel to the United States on January 6 for a surgical procedure to cut faulty nerves in her spine to enable her to walk again.
Relatives of the nine year-old, who has cerebal palsy, launched a fundraising campaign to pay for the procedure at the St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri.
Last night, her mother, Jane, said the way in which people in the area had responded to the appeal, raising just under £80,000, was “humbling”.
Isla, a pupil at St Andrews Primary in Fraserburgh, weighed just 1lb 10oz when she was born 10 weeks premature in 2005.
At four weeks old, she developed necrotising enterocolitis and needed an operation to remove part of her bowel.
As a result of the early birth, Isla also has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, meaning she cannot walk unaided.
Her mum and dad, Robert, were originally worried Isla could be left using a wheelchair for the rest of her life until they heard about the work of the American hospital which offers specialist treatment to youngsters who have mobility problems.
Now, the family are preparing for the journey west after Christmas.
Mrs McNab said: “It’s a lot for her to take in, but she’s old enough to know what’s happening.
“She’ll gain more independence and, really, anything that gives her more independence is good. She’ll be able to do more things without us helping.
“There’s been folk approaching us and asking if they can do anything for her, it’s just really humbling.
“There’s a lot of people to thank – someone did a horse show for us, a bag pack in Tesco, a ball at the Davron Hotel, leg waxing at Cheers. A lot of people have been involved.”
Fundraising for Isla began in January. Since then, £50,000 has been raised to fund the operation, with a further £15,000 to pay for an intensive physiotherapy programme after the operation.
To date, Mrs McNab believes about £80,000 has been raised in total.
Dennis Forsyth, the proprietor of Cheers, a family pub in Fraserburgh, said he was happy to have been able to help the McNabs.
He commented: “We were delighted to help such a good cause that will make an instant impact on her life.
“It says a lot for the town and the outlying area – that they can be so generous.
“It wasn’t just a positive experience for us, but for the whole town.
“We’re really happy for her and delighted for her mum and dad, it must be a huge worry off their shoulders.”
Messages of support for the youngster have also flooded a social media page set up to raise awareness of Isla’s dream.
The surgery, which can take up to five hours to complete, is called a selective dorsal rhizotomy.
It will be the third of its kind carried out on a north-east youngster with both Peterhead toddler Dylan Parsons and Elrick’s Adam Walker having previously undergone the procedure.
Dr Tae S. Park, neurosurgeon in chief at the children’s hospital, said: “For more than two decades, I’ve done my best to tackle the problems inherent to cerebral palsy in patients still young enough to benefit from surgical intervention.
“At St. Louis Children’s Hospital, I perform a procedure called selective dorsal rhizotomy that involves cutting sensory nerves in the spinal cord. It’s the only surgery that can permanently reduce or eliminate spasticity for people with cerebral palsy and give them back mobility.
“Thus far, I’ve had the privilege of helping nearly 3000 individuals. While the procedure will not cure cerebral palsy, I have seen it improve quality of life for children and their families. Children who were once told they would never walk can now swim, dance, and play with their friends. That is extremely gratifying, to say the least.”