A FUNDRAISING drive is underway to help a young girl walk independently.

Mae Fox, eight, has a rare condition called Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy, which was diagnosed shortly after her first birthday.

Her parents Amy and Matt were told the prognosis was unclear and Mae would need permanent support and would never walk.

Amy said: “We wanted to offer Mae all the opportunities that there were in order for her to achieve her maximum independence and we began to research if this hope could ever be a reality for Mae.”

In 2012 Mae’s parents learned of Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR), a pioneering spinal nerve surgery which was offering children in the United States with similar disabilities to Mae, a chance to reduce their spasticity and aid mobility.

Amy said: “The journey to raise funds to give Mae the same opportunity was begun and Hope4Mae was launched.”

To fund the operation Hope4Mae raised £70,000 and in January 2014, Mae underwent surgery at the St Louis Children’s Hospital in America.

The surgery reduced Mae’s abnormal muscle tone and improved her sitting and standing postures along with her balance and endurance.

Amy said: “Mae is now learning to walk independently and she can stand and mobilise using a walker and is beginning to work on more complex tasks.

“Although her spasticity was successfully reduced by the SDR operation, she now needs to develop the strength and flexibility in her previous unused muscles.

"Unfortunately, like the original surgery, the rehabilitation is not supported by the NHS. This year Mae will need to return to the US to have surgery on her hamstrings which will maintain mobility as she grows taller, so our mission to raise more funds continues.”

The family, who live in Doncaster, have a holiday caravan at North Grimston and are being supported in their fundraising drive by the Hyde Park pub in Norton.

This weekend the pub will be having killer pool and darts to raise funds for Hope4Mae followed by further events planned, including a head shave, children’s games and giant raffle with prizes donated by local businesses.

Amy said: “We are massively touched that so many people are supporting us. Sometimes it feels we have a massive hill to climb and then things like this happen and out of the clouds comes a rainbow.”

For more information, go to hope4mae.co.uk