Massive support for helping Wigan toddler walk

A Wigan couple has been overwhelmed by the generosity of residents who raised £3,000 to buy a walker for their young disabled son.

Amy Blenkinsopp and Scott Neil, from Winstanley, decided to purchase a Leckey My Way walker for three-year-old Harry after seeing how well he could use it to get about in a physiotherapy session.

Harry has had to battle serious illness all his short life and suffers from quadriplegic cerebral palsy and epilepsy, meaning he cannot sit, crawl or walk independently.

Amy and Scott’s friends Jonjo and Gemma Gallagher hit on the idea of a 100-mile bike ride from Wigan to Morecambe and back in a day in September and set up a fund-raising page.

Remarkably, though, the £2,800 they needed for the mobility equipment was reached the following day.

Amy, 30, said: “We’re really overwhelmed by how kind people are. There are nice people out there.

“I would just like to thank everyone who donated, it’s just incredible.”

Amy says the walker will make an enormous difference to Harry’s quality of life and described the emotional moment he tried one out for the first time while seeing physiotherapist Stewart Drew at Hope School in Marus Bridge.

She said: “Harry rolls everywhere at the moment and when we’re out we have to carry him if he’s not in his wheelchair.

“Harry’s physio tried him in the walker and he started walking straight away.

“He was absolutely loving it, you could see how happy he was. Stewart was shocked how quickly he picked it up.

“It was just incredible to see him getting around and going to places he wanted to go. Scott and I knew we just had to get one.

“Just being in that upright position will enable him to play with other children, an opportunity he’s never had before. He would also be able to walk round himself when we go to the park or the zoo. For him to have that independence would be amazing.

“Unfortunately we can’t get funding to bring a walker home so we decided we would do some fund-raising.”

Around 20 people have so far signed up for the fund-raising event, which takes place on September 12.

Scott, 31, his brother Alex and a number of their friends will all depart from Winstanley to ride to Jonjo and Gemma’s caravan in the Lancashire seaside resort and then return to the borough.

Budding fund-raisers who are not able to get in the saddle for the 100-mile ride are also joining by running the final 13 miles of the route.