The family of a young Carlow girl suffering from severe scoliosis has received an outpouring of support from the public.
Seven-year-old Roxanne Kelly was born with Arthrogryposis, a rare condition which saw severe impact to ‘her physical movement in all four limbs, resulting in her being unable to sit-up, stand, or feed herself’.
RELATED: €74,000 raised for little Carlow girl born with rare condition Arthrogryposis
Help Roxanne get scoliosis surgery. Pic: GoFundMe
Roxanne’s parents, mum MáirÃn and dad Declan, have set up a fundraising campaign for the brave little who requires ‘urgent surgery’.
The plea follows two successful major surgeries on her dislocated hips and legs which saw the family travel to the Paley Orthopaedic and Spine Institute in Florida which allowed her to ‘her sit upright and be able to move her legs.’
Help Roxanne get scoliosis surgery. Pic: GoFundMe
Having raised the money to go abroad for the life-changing procedures last year through GoFundMe, the concerned parents have reopened donations and set a second target of 60 thousand euro.
Adding that without further treatment Roxanne’s condition ‘will deteriorate rapidly’ and that she needs surgery within a ‘specific timeframe’, they added:
‘We need to raise another €60,000. This will help us travel to Florida for surgery that will place growing rods in Roxanne’s spine to strengthen the 80 degree curve and stop her spine from deteriorating further.’
They add: ‘A curve of anything above 50 degrees is seen as being very serious and needing surgery’.
Help Roxanne get scoliosis surgery. Pic: GoFundMe
Sharing Roxanne’s story, they explained their original reasoning to go abroad for treatment: ‘She waited four years on an urgent surgical waiting list to have her dislocated hips done and to shorten her femur to enable her to sit and move more freely.
She never had this surgery in Ireland because she was just removed from that wait list after four long years of hoping and waiting. Being removed without explanation was such a disappointment.’
Help Roxanne get scoliosis surgery. Pic: GoFundMe
With her condition having ‘never held her back’, ‘extremely intelligent’ and ‘energetic’ Roxanne is ‘best friends’ with her twin brother Curtis and also has an older brother named Ryan, which the family sweetly say they both ‘look up to greatly’.
So far, the family are 12 thousand euro away from reaching their target, with over two thousand contributions made by people across the country and beyond.
If you wish to donate, you can find the family’s GoFundMe page here.
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