A fund to buy vital equipment to help a little girl on the road to her first step has been given a boost of hundreds of pounds.

Six-year-old Charlotte Wormald was left with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy following complications after she was born prematurely.

The youngster, from Menston, is unable to sit, stand and walk unaided. She needs daily physiotherapy along with regular trips to clinics at home and abroad to help with the spasms in her muscles.  Now Charlotte’s family are trying to raise £4,200 to buy a Motomed Gracile machine to lesson the spasticity in her arms and legs and to help strengthen them.

Her parents, Radka and Mark hope that one day her body will be strong enough and her motor skills advanced enough to go to Leeds for SDR (selective dorsal rhizotomy).  The surgery involves cutting some of the sensory nerve fibres running from the muscles to the spinal cord, and would reduce spasticity. It would then be followed by intensive physiotherapy.

On their website they say: “It gives the chance to walk and become as independent as possible to many children with CP.  Our target is for Charlotte to reach the stage where she is ready to undergo this and take her first independent step.“    Guiseley and District Lions have donated £500 towards the cost of the Motomed Gracile machine for Charlotte.

A spokesman for the Lions said: “Despite her severe physical disabilities, Charlotte is a happy little girl with an enquiring mind who enjoys having fun with her twin sister, Emily.  “It is felt that Charlotte would benefit greatly from having a full body version Motomed Gracile at home.

“The machine would also be beneficial to her parents because the sessions will become more physically demanding as Charlotte grows bigger and stronger.

“Charlotte used a Motomed machine whilst visiting Physio Centrum in the Czech Republic last year to great benefit.”

Go to charlottewormald.com for more information about the fundraising.