News / disability
Mother seeks funds to buy car seat for disabled son
The mother of a young boy from Kingswood with cerebral palsy is campaigning to raise £2,508 for a specialist car seat so he can travel safely.
Four-year-old Ryan Tillers was born with the condition, which affects children’s development and movement, and cannot move his arms or legs, or speak. He currently has a regular car seat, but it isn’t safe for him to use as his shoulders often slip out of the straps.
For Ryan’s mother Inga, driving when Ryan is in the car is becomingly difficult as he gets older. “We can’t travel more than a few miles,” she said. “I have to stop the car and reposition him to make sure he is safe. We can fund some of this ourselves, but like most normal families, finding such a large amount isn’t possible.”
is needed now More than ever
Life is made even more tough for the family by the fact that Inga has a second child with the same condition.
The car seat they wish to buy will have adjustable straps to fit Ryan exactly, plus they will be able to be lengthened as he grows. They are being helped in their appeal to fund the carseat by Newlife, a charity that helps disabled children across the country.
Stephen Morgan, head of operations at the charity, said: “There are now one million disabled children in the UK. Families of disabled and terminally ill children have to beg and battle their local services to get even basic equipment and still they are being failed. This is not right.”
For Inga, life will be made vastly easier by the new car seat, and will make it possible to make trips as a family without the stress and worry she has currently been facing. “If we are out as a family, I can at least sit in the back so I can keep an eye on him but going anywhere on my own with the children is really difficult,” Inga says. “That’s why we need the specialist car seat.”
You can support the family to raise the £2,508 needed by visiting www.newlifecharity.co.uk/somerset or by emailing local@newlifecharity.co.uk. Telephone donations can be made by calling 01543 462777.
Read more: ‘Disabled people have borne the brunt of austerity cuts’
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