The parents of a brave Perthshire schoolboy have booked the final stage of surgery which could see him walk unaided for the first time.
Jack McNaughton has already travelled to the St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri, USA, to have advanced surgery, known as selective dorsal rhizotomy, to treat the effects of his cerebral palsy.
The six-year-old will fly back to the States later this month for a further operation to lengthen muscles in his feet.
Mum Stacy McNaughton said they had already raised half of the £25,000 needed for the procedure and made the decision to press ahead.
Without the surgery, Jack, who lives in Almondbank, faces having to undergo bone reconstruction surgery, a far more invasive operation.
Stacy said: “Jack is scheduled for surgery on July 29. We are still getting money coming in but I estimate we’ve raised £11,500 out of £25,000.
“We’re able to go ahead now we’ve reached a half-way point because Jack isn’t a new patient to the hospital.”
It has not all been plain sailing, however.
“We’ve had a setback in that Jack has been having extreme pain in his left foot and somehow he’s managed to bruise it I believe it’s because of the way he’s been going over on his ankle,” said Stacy.
“It made us revise things and make a judgment on when he was to have his surgery and, ultimately, it needs to be sooner rather than later.
“It’s kept him off his feet for a week now, which is quite detrimental.
“It was a difficult decision but I think it was the best one. I’m really excited but really nervous.”
Stacy added that fundraising efforts continue.
“We are doing a final big push to raise as much money as possible and we are still doing rag bag collections,” she said.
“We will also be holding a sportsman dinner at the Lovatt hotel in Perth on August 9 with (former Dundee manager) John Brown as the main speaker.”