JCB today gave a £6,500 donation towards a £65,000 campaign to send a young Staffordshire boy for vital life-changing surgery in the USA.
Kyreigh O'Regan, five, suffers from cerebral palsy - the result of having a stroke during pregnancy or birth - which leaves him in constant pain, suffering from muscle cramps and spasms and unable to walk unaided. He also needs a wheelchair to travel any distances and performs daily physiotherapy exercises to strengthen his muscles.
Today JCB Company Secretary Steve Ovens presented the cheque on behalf of the Bamford Charitable Foundation to Kyreigh’s mum, Sasha O'Regan – boosting the appeal total to more than £24,000.
Sasha said today: “I was speechless at the size of the donation from JCB and would like to say a big thank you to the Bamford Charitable Foundation for their generosity. JCB no doubt gets thousands of requests to help worthy causes every year so I feel very lucky that our appeal has been chosen as a beneficiary. It has given Kyreigh’s Kause a huge boost.”
Sasha launched a campaign to send Kyreigh to St Louis Children's Hospital in America for a Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) operation which will end the pain instantly. Due to NHS cuts it is unlikely Kyreigh will be able to have the operation in the UK but without the surgery his condition could deteriorate and he could spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair and in constant pain.
People had already dug deep to raise around £5,000 and a number of charity events have been organised in the youngster’s home town of Uttoxeter..
Sasha - who also had a eight-year-old daughter called Xanthie – added: "Kyreigh is in constant pain and cannot sleep through at night – it breaks my heart to see him like this and I know it is so distressing for Xanthie too. As his mum I know I am never going to stop raising the money needed for the SDR surgery which will end the pain he suffers as well as enabling him to walk and run independently. The £65,000 cost of the operation and travel to St Louis is such a massive sum it is difficult sometimes to know where it will all come from."
Sasha, 24, and her partner Pete Turp, 33, have also organised several key fundraising events in and around Uttoxeter. They include charity football and cricket matches, a sports memorabilia auction and a black tie charity ball at Uttoxeter Racecourse.
To make a donation visit www.justgiving.com/KYREIGHSKAUSE/
People can also donate by texting KYRE80 followed by the sum to 70070.