One of Linwood’s youngest residents is in need of a bit of support from his community.
Little Phoenix Wark was born prematurely in November 2020 with an extremely severe type of Spina Bifida, which means that he will not be able to walk unless he undergoes treatment.
The tot’s mum and dad, Lauren and Gordon, have set up a GoFundMe page to help raise funds for what could be a lengthy period of interventions.
Speaking to the Express, Lauren explained that for Phoenix to have any chance of walking, he’d need thousands of pounds worth of physiotherapy sessions.
“Our ultimate goal for Phoenix is to get him up on his feet, to stand and then, hopefully, to walk,” she said.
Lauren and Gordon are pinning their hopes on a treatment specially devised for infants with Spina Bifida by a doctor from Florida.
“Treatment in America is so much more advanced,” explained Lauren.
“Electrical stimulation of tissue is used all over the world to treat Spina Bifida, but this woman has developed a tailored treatment for Spina Bifida.
“It’s called spinal stimulation for children with Spina Bifida, where instead of putting the electrode pads on different parts of a limb, you put it on a part of the spine and you use it to stimulate the muscles and help move things like the base of the foot and the thigh and different things like that.”
Lauren and Gordon will have to purchase the machine and electrode pads which will cost roughly £1,500 – the reason they set up the fundraising page in the first place.
But, on top of this, Phoenix will require regular physio sessions.
They’ve located a physiotherapist trained in spinal stimulation who is based in Linlithgow, West Lothian.
Lauren added: “Unfortunately, it’s very expensive to take on a private physio. It’s totally worth it for us.
“But it’s a bit more expensive than what we can afford, so we thought let’s open this up and make the target bigger and see what we can do.”
The family has set a target of £5,000, of which they’ve currently received £2,485 in donations.
Spina Bifida is when a baby’s spine and spinal cord do not develop properly in the womb, causing a gap in the spine, which can lead to weakness or total paralysis of the legs; bowel incontinence and urinary incontinence; and loss of skin sensation in the legs and around the bottom.
The child is also unable to feel hot or cold, which can lead to accidental injury.
Currently, Phoenix exhibits all of these symptoms.
He also had to have surgery to treat Hydrocephalus, excess fluid on the brain, which is common in children with Spina Bifida.
Despite this, Lauren says her little happy chappy is taking everything in his stride.
“He’s cheeky,” she added. “He’s charming and he is so keen and happy. He’s very mischievous.
“Honestly, for everything that he has gone through, he’s the happiest wee boy. He’s just doing so well.
“We’re just wanting to do everything that we can for him to have the best.”
If you would like to donate to help Phoenix get his treatment, visit the fundraising page at https://bit.ly/3TxQeEg
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