A YOUNGSTER with a rare degenerative disorder has seen her dream come true after a fundraising drive to provide a specially-adapted wheelchair reached its £10,000 target in just four months.
Mia Strickland, 10, has Friedreich’s Ataxia, an inherited condition that affects her balance, co-ordination and mobility.
Kirkbymoorside Primary School, where Mia is a pupil, launched a campaign last September to raise the money to buy her an all-terrain wheelchair.
Last week the new wheelchair was delivered enabling Mia to play on the school field with her friends and give her family a chance to enjoy to places that are fast becoming inaccessible.
Mia was diagnosed in 2011 with Friedreich’s Ataxia. She also has cardiomyopathy as a result of the ataxia and there is currently no cure.
Gill Hardacre, headteacher at the school, said: “Her old electric wheelchair was for fairly level, firm surfaces which meant Mia couldn’t go on the school field independently.
“She couldn’t access PE lessons or sports activities or even just play on the field without a lot of support and there was a real concern that she is becoming socially isolated from her peers.”
Mrs Hardacre said the all-terrain wheelchair would open the world up for Mia again and allow her to play with her friends in the way she wants to.
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