“Inspirational” Perthshire youngster Jack McNaughton is set to take the next step on his path to mobility thanks to the community’s continuing fund-raising efforts.
The brave three-year-old, who suffers from cerebral palsy, has been accepted on to The Footsteps Programme a pioneering three-week physiotherapy course offered at a centre in Oxfordshire.
Less than five months after undergoing major corrective surgery in the United States, Jack, from Almondbank, is now able to whizz around with the help of a specialised walker.
However, parents Stacy and Graham hope the groundbreaking Footsteps “spider” treatment will help him make the leap to crutches and maybe even enable him to walk freely.
Stacy (25) also revealed more than 25 families had been in touch with her looking for advice after hearing her son’s story.
Some families were hoping to start fund-raising to pay for a child to attend St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri, like Jack, while others simply wanted a listening ear.
In a bid to reach out to many more, Stacy has become a support worker for newly formed Support4SDR organisation.
With the help of the Perthshire community, the McNaughtons managed to raise the £40,000 needed to pay for the selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) surgery performed by the renowned Dr T. S. Park and other related costs.
A further £35,000 has since been raised for Jack’s Fund, to pay for vital physiotherapy, aquatherapy and a range of equipment.
The Footsteps course costs around £1500, not including accommodation, which Stacy said would have been “out of reach” had not been for kind-hearted residents.
She told The Courier, “Jack can’t wait to get down to Footsteps, he knows how much it will help him progress.”Incredibly committed””For his age he has been incredibly committed to his post-op therapy. It’s really quite amazing.
“He tells everyone at nursery about his new legs and loves that he can now join in with games,” she added.
“We found out about the centre before we decided to go through with the SDR and have heard many amazing success stories from other parents.
“The physios use a cutting-edge piece of technology called the spider, which uses elastic ropes and pulleys to allow children to attain the correct body position.
“The ropes will be tight at first on Jack to support him but will be loosened as he learns to use his muscles properly.
“I spoke to one mum recently whose daughter made incredible progress in the three weeks.
“When she started she had to be supported in her walker and the wheels were locked to ensure they didn’t swivel, but by the end she was changing direction with ease.
“We will be taking Jack’s candy canes (walking sticks) with us and hope he will be using them by the end.”
On the reach of Jack’s story she said, “It gives me goosebumps. I’ve spoken to so many mums and dads who said Jack had been an inspiration to them I didn’t expect that.
“At one point we thought we might be doing the wrong thing putting Jack through so much publicity, but it has been worth it if it helps other children.”
During a visit to Carnoustie to see Ayley and Chloe Hirsch, he told his mum, “I’m so happy we’re helping them to walk too … we’ll all be able to run on the sand together.”
Stacy added, “I speak to the girls’ mum, Averil, regularly she and partner Frazer are doing really well with all the fund-raising. We also both can’t thank The Courier enough, your support has helped a great deal.”