The family of a Buckie toddler who was born with a rare brain condition has praised the “brilliant” charity which supports them.
Demi Addison, who turns two next month, was born with the condition hemiplegia – a type of cerebal palsy – after suffering a clot to the brain while still in her mum’s womb.
The condition means the left side of Demi’s body is significantly weakened.
Her mother, Erin, 26, said: “From the start, we noticed that she couldn’t really use both her hands – the left one was always clenched and she was always using her right one.
“The health visitor said it was probably muscular and there wasn’t anything to worry about.
“It wasn’t until we went to a physiotherapist when she was 10 months old that we learned that it was hemiplegia.
“Hemiplegia is not a well-known condition at all so it was also a real learning curve for us.”
There are are only about four or five children in Moray who have the condition, which means Demi’s family have sometimes struggled to make people understand the challenges they face.
But Mrs Addison, who is married to Kevin, said: “Despite everything, Demi is so determined – she doesn’t let her condition slow her down for one minute.
“She’s such a happy wee girl. Demi has been receiving occupational therapy as part of her treatment. We just take it a day at a time.
“I would much rather she grew up thinking she was no different to any other children and that’s how we’re raising her.”
Now Mr Addison has decided to cycle from Land’s End to John o’Groats for HemiHelp – a charity which supports children and young people with hemiplegia.
He plans to complete the challenge in nine days in September, and hopes to not only raise vital funds but also awareness.
Mr Addison, an assistant driller for Maersk Drilling Norway, said: “I was also keen to do an event which I knew would really motivate me and I knew that would have to be something quite extreme.
“The longest possible distance in the UK is Lands End to John O’Groats. I really wanted to push myself so I’ll be doing it in nine days.
“But the way I see it is that I will be going through of difficulty on a bike – Demi will have a lifetime of challenges.
“That really puts it in perspective for me and has pushed me forward to do everything that I can.”
Donations are already flooding in, and since his work has pledged to match whatever is raised, Mr Addison is delighted he is already looking at £8,000 before he even sets off. To support his effort, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kevin-addison1