A Highland community was celebrating last night after raising £80,000 for a vital operation that will allow a little boy to walk.
Kayden Gordon, of Thurso will travel to St Louis in the US in January to undergo the life-changing operation.
Little Kayden, who turns four on December 17, was just 15-months-old when diagnosed with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, a condition which tightens his muscles so much that he is unable to walk unaided or sit on the floor with his legs straight.
He currently moves with the aid of a walking frame and is able to drag himself around on his knees.
Kayden’s family and friends gathered at the Way Inn Hotel in Thurso yesterday to celebrate reaching the £80,000 target.
His mum Sarah Gordon said: “We are all feeling really emotional and overwhelmed. All we can really say is thank you very much.
“We never imagined we would be here this soon. The community has been brilliant in getting behind us. We are so thankful. Without them we wouldn’t be going for the surgery, we can’t thank them enough.”
Kayden’s grandfather, Brian Gordon, said: “It is amazing for the family, it is just a huge weight being taken off our shoulders that the target has been achieved.
“He is going to get the operation and all the physiotherapy is now going to be covered. It is a huge relief.
“We have had lots of events over the duration. We had an auction which raised £4,000, there is the website that tells of Kayden’s Wish to Walk, which has received lots of donations, and there have been running and swimming events.”
Mr Gordon continued: “We were told by the NHS that he would never walk. The prognosis was that he would eventually end up in a wheelchair. Now we have ability to get this operation and he will walk. The operation has a 100% success rate.
“We are all extremely relieved, excited and delighted.
“He is going to be going at the end of January and will be back in Caithness by the end of February, early March. Hopefully by the end of February he will no longer need his green walker. Our Christmas has come early.”
The Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) operation involves removing vertebrae in the lower back to allow access to the nerve roots. Electrical pulses will be sent through the nerve roots to find the abnormal roots and then cut them.