Brave Wiktoria Mucha's parents raising funds for operation
The parents of a nine-year-old Coupar Angus girl who has cerebral palsy have made a renewed appeal for financial help to enable her to walk unaided.
- By Paul Reoch
- Published in the Courier : 23.06.11
- Published online : 25.06.11 @ 09.55am
Wiktoria Mucha, who was born in Poland, is a pupil at Coupar Angus Primary School and uses a walker. She needs an operation to prevent further deformation of her hips, spine and other bones and lessen her need for a wheelchair.
Her mother Aneta said that, due to the condition, Wiktoria is unable to play with other children.
Aneta and husband Tomasz hope to raise £40,000, which would let Wiktoria undergo selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), performed on children with cerebral palsy in the St Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri, USA.
"We contacted a doctor at the hospital and sent Wiktoria's medical records," Aneta said. "After a few weeks we had confirmation that Wiktoria qualifies for the SDR surgery.
"Unfortunately, the procedure costs £40,000 and we are unable to pay for it ourselves.
"We therefore undertook a fund-raising campaign called the Wiktoria Fund with our friends and the local community. In addition, we sent many letters asking for grants and financial assistance to numerous trusts and charitable organisations.
"However, because we are not a registered charity we have very little chance to gather enough money.
"For the first year of Wiktoria's life, the doctors didn't know the full extent of her condition, therefore we weren't aware she had cerebral palsy.
"After an MRI scan we were given the diagnosis that Wiktoria had cerebral palsy, which was a big shock to us — our lives changed completely overnight.
"The first four years of physiotherapy brought progress to Wiktoria, and she had learned to crawl, speak and sit independently which made us extremely proud as her parents.
"When Wiktoria was four years old we moved to Scotland in search of a better future for our daughter," she said.
"People of good will from the local Perthshire community have been very helpful and we're very grateful for all their efforts, but time is running away all too quickly for Wiktoria.
"She's entering the growing up period, and if the surgery is not done quickly enough her health will deteriorate and her chance of walking by herself will fade away forever."
- To help Wiktoria go to http://wiktoriafund.org.
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