A campaign has been launched to buy a “life-changing” wheelchair for a 10-year-old boy from Dundee with a rare genetic condition.
Dexter Williamson was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) at the age of four, which causes his muscles to weaken as he grows.
It means he is slowly losing the ability to walk, and now requires a wheelchair to go outside.
It is a disease which only affects boys – most of whom are full-time wheelchair users by the age of 12.
But because Dexter can still walk inside, he is not eligible for an electric wheelchair from the NHS.
It means he relies on a manual wheelchair, which he is too weak to self-propel.
His mum Rachel, 35, is now appealing for help to buy her son the “chair of his dreams” – the £15,000 Trekinetic three-wheel device – which would give him more freedom.
£15,000 electric wheelchair means ‘Dexter could go anywhere’
She says the state-of-the-art all terrain wheelchair would allow Dexter to “go anywhere” – from Broughty Ferry beach to his cousins’ farm.
Since the GoFundMe was launched on Thursday, it has already raised more than £2,500 towards its £15,000 target.
Rachel, who is Dexter’s full-time carer, said: “We recently tried out the Trekinetic chair at a wheelchair supplier in Edinburgh and fell in love.
“Dexter loved it – he was whizzing around the car park.
“It’s amazing, it could take him anywhere.
“It’s all terrain and I wouldn’t need to worry about him getting stuck anywhere.
“He would be able to play in the garden and keep up with his friends – it would give him so much freedom.”
Rachel, who lives in the Trottick area of Dundee with her son, believes the chair could also help turn a difficult situation into a more positive one.
She said: “Dexter is slowly losing the ability to walk and I don’t know much longer he has even in the house.
“But I want him to think of this year as the year he got this cool chair, not the year he stopped walking.
“It could change a negative year into a more positive experience and open doors.”
‘It was hard to ask for money’
Speaking about the fundraiser, Rachel says “it was hard” to ask for donations.
She has applied to several charities for help to fund the chair, but with no success.
She said: “It’s been amazing, everyone is so kind.
“A lot of our friends and family have been donating which is so nice.
“I didn’t want to ask – it was hard to ask.
“But he deserves to have a good chair because he is such a lovely little boy”.
Recalling the moment Dexter was diagnosed with DMD, she said: “When he was three-and-a-half years old, I noticed he wasn’t able to jump at all.
“The nurse said we would expect him to be able to do that by now.”
Medical tests soon revealed that Dexter had the muscle disorder, which also causes heart and lung issues.
Globally, fewer than 10 cases of DMD occur in every 100,000 males.
But Rachel says Dexter has taken the diagnosis in his stride.
She said: “He is kind and so positive.
“For someone going through so much, he goes through it so easily.
“He love computer games, drawing and art.
“He plays piano – he is currently working towards his grade three.
“He wanted to be an artist when he grows up but now he wants to be a scientist”.
