Parents hope to raise £20,000 to send tot abroad for treatment

THE PARENTS of a 20-month-old girl suffering from severe cerebral palsy have launched a £20,000 fundraising drive to help pay for specialist stem '¨cell treatment in Central America.
Imogen Holmes was diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy  in June 2017.Imogen Holmes was diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy  in June 2017.
Imogen Holmes was diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy in June 2017.

Little Imogen Holmes has been diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, a condition which has left her unable to speak and with only limited use of her arms and legs.

Her parents Briony Winstanley, 21 and Stephen Holmes, 25, of Fitzwilliam, want to raise £20,000 to take their daughter to Panama for treatment at the Stem Cell Institute.

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Mr Holmes, said: “It could achieve her walking unaided, it could achieve her talking.

“If it means her saying a few words it would mean a lot.”

Imogen underwent an MRI scan before being diagnosed with the condition last June - just over a week after her first birthday.

Miss Winstanley said: “She can’t pick anything up or feed herself.

It is a struggle, but we have to get by. Imogen is amazing.

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“She is determined and will try and crawl and walk.” Imogen’s grandmother Pauline Winstanley, 56, of Knottingley, said: “If the treatment doesn’t work we can tell her when she is old enough that we tried.”

Family friend Chris Doyle, 28, of Calverley, Leeds, has organised a fundraising family fun day at The Hut community centre on Kershaw Avenue, Airedale, Castleford, from 11am to 4pm on Sunday, May 27.

Go to www.gofundme.com/imogens-stem-cell-treatment