in the know

Let’s all help Oscar…

We understand that times are hard for some people though, so if you were unable to make a monetary donation, we would ask you to share the word of Oscar’s appeal to others @oscar_sdr Oscar is 6 years old and lives in Whalley Range with his parents Simon and Dawn.

I sold their family home to them in June 2017. After reading the below information at a recent West Didsbury & Chorlton AFC football match. Oscar was the mascot for the day! I feel that my business contacts, clients, past clients and my fantastic local community can help. So please read the below and donate in any way you can.

Many thanks

Eddie Ellis – Owner – JP & Brimelow Chorlton & Didsbury

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Oscar’s background
Oscar is 6 years old and lives in Whalley Range, Manchester with his parents Simon and Dawn. He was born 13 weeks prematurely, with the trauma of his birth causing a bleed on the brain, he was also born with two heart conditions. This means that he now suffers from cerebral palsy. The heart conditions are under control following several operations in his early years, but the cerebral palsy is an ongoing and worsening condition. Despite this, Oscar is bright as a button, a nonstop talker and a boy who has a love all things music and sport especially football!

The problem
The effects of cerebral palsy can come in many forms – for Oscar, it has mainly affected his mobility. From the age of around 12 months, the muscles in his legs started to tighten, and sadly this has worsened ever since. This means that he has never been able to learn to walk, as he simply does not have the core strength or limb movement to be able to do so at present. The increasing tightness in his legs means that Oscar is suffering from more and more discomfort as time goes on and is even causing him to wake most nights in pain. If nothing is done to correct this rigidity in his legs, then eventually permanent damage will be caused to his muscles and joints.

What can be done?
The key to relieving Oscar’s discomfort is to reduce the spasticity in his legs. An operation has been developed called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR). The aim of this procedure is to cut the nerves on the spinal cord that are responsible for the tension in the legs. Once this tightness has been eased, there is then an intensive course of physiotherapy which will attempt to correct the structure of his muscles and tendons. Potentially, if we can maximise the benefits of this for Oscar, he may even be able to stand on his own two feet in future.

There are only 7 hospitals in the UK that currently offer this operation. Luckily, the wonderful Alder Hey is one of these places, and Oscar is now in the perfect window to have it done. Unfortunately, funding for the procedure does not currently come from the NHS, meaning that we must raise the funds ourselves, and as his condition is worsening as time goes on, time is of the essence. Oscar has already been through so much in his short life, and it would be disastrous for him should this opportunity be missed.
Together, the operation and associated physiotherapy will cost in the region of £65k – a great deal of money, and it goes without saying not a sum we can easily lay our hands on. Therefore, we are asking for support from people and companies like you.

Firstly, and most directly, you could donate to our Just Giving fund. We have managed to partner with a charity called Just4Children who specialise in appeals such as this. Any funds donated to Oscar’s appeal are held by them, and they would then release funds to us to pay Oscar’s medical, physio and equipment bills when needed. You can Google ‘Operation Oscar’ to find this – the direct link is below. https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/OperationOscar

If you do have a fundraising idea, or if you would like any further information about our appeal, Oscar’s condition or SDR, please feel free to email us at operationoscarsdr@gmail.com – we are always open to ideas and contacts!


Thank you for taking the time to read this, and we hope to hear from you at some point.

Simon, Dawn & Oscar