Sheffield wheelchair bike fundraiser: Specialist wheelchair for George, 5, would expand his world, mum says
and live on Freeview channel 276
George Clements loves the outdoors and has always loved being outside with his family, despite cerebral palsy restricting his ability to explore the world around him. Mum and dad, Susanna and Andrew Clements, have often found it difficult to get their entire family out and about, due to the difficulties of travel, but whilst on a family holiday, they found something that could make George’s currently small world, into a vast, expansive space to be explored.
Susanna said: “We went to Centre Parks where they had these wheelchair bikes and he just loved it. He loves being outside.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdSeeing George enjoying the outside as independently as the wheelchair bike allowed him, Susanna knew what they had to do. They had to get one of these bikes for George.
“As his mum, I just want George to experience more and his life to be richer and more fulfilling and to access it as other kids can access. We are so proud of George. He’s achieved so much. When you have a severely disabled child the small things are huge, I explain it to my 12 year old, that it’s a bit like him learning maths, without being taught maths and then practicing it he wouldn’t know how to do it.
“For George that applies to everything he does, eating with a spoon, holding a toy, walking, rolling. So when he eats with a spoon it’s a huge achievement, it’s taken practice, concentration and so so much effort. We celebrate things which to the outside world are insignificant, but to us, to George, are ginormous.”
Unfortunately, as Susanna says everything for disabled children is, these wheelchair bikes are extremely expensive, and they simply cannot afford to buy it themselves. She has set up a GoFundMe page, hoping to raise the money to enable her son to do so much more. The wheelchair bike will be a lifelong tool for George, making it worth every penny for his family. So far, the page has raised £5,015 of it’s £8,322 goal.