Selective dorsal rhizotomy surgery: Skye's story
LITTLE Skye Swinton is waiting to hear whether she can have surgery which could help her to walk.
The three-year-old from Arle, who has spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, is hoping to have an operation at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol.
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BRIGHT AS A BUTTON: Skye Swinton with her parents John and Ruth
She has had tests at the hospital and is waiting to find out whether she is suitable for the selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) procedure.
The operation will reduce the spasticity in her legs and hopefully lead to her being able to walk on her own.
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Her family has had to raise the £40,000 to fund the operation themselves, after their application for funding from NHS Gloucestershire was rejected.
Skye's mum Ruth, 38, said it was "very frustrating" that children living elsewhere in the country had the operation financed by the NHS.
She said she felt Skye was a victim of a "postcode lottery".
Skye is currently unsteady on her feet, easily tired and unable to travel any distance without help from a wheelchair.
The SDR operation would reduce the spasticity in Skye's leg muscles and make it easier for her to move around.
It is also likely that, without SDR, her leg bones will twist as she grows, requiring major surgery when she is 11 or 12 to de-rotate her legs and reattach the muscles in a better position. Skye was born 13 weeks prematurely, weighing just 1lb 15oz.
Ruth said: "It is heart-breaking to watch her try to do things her friends can do easily, but she will never do without effort. She is a determined little thing and a bit stubborn, and she is going to have to overcome so many things in her life, but she has always kept smiling.
"She really is as bright as a button."
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