JAS Salsa Party

Want to say a big, big thank you to Daddy's colleague Zu, his partner Julie-Ann and friend Gary for organising and hosting a salsa party in aid of Sophia.

These guys put a massive amount of time and effort into this event, which they hosted in Peterborough. By all accounts, it was a great night with many people turning up. They had guest dancers and held a raffle with loads of prizes generously donated. In total they raised over £350.

A special thanks should go to Zu though, he's been a great support throughout our fundraising, always offering help and asking how we're doing. Thanks mate, it's very much appreciated

Dr T S Park

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Sophia finally got to meet the great doctor yesterday....and we weren't disappointed !!!
The quiet confidence of him and his team was very reassuring and relieved any worries we had.

We initally met the lovely Deanna, the SDR Co-ordinator, who answered all of our questions and did a quick assessment. She seemed to really like Sophia, describing her as spunky !!!

Then it was time to see the doctor. Sophia was a bit tired by this point and didn't want to do anything for him, but a couple of barbie stickers later and she was like putty in his hands !! So, he assessed her ankle flexion., the range of movement from neutral, upwards. Most of us have about 15 degrees of movement from neutral,  Sophia's right ankle has about 5 and very little in the left because of the spasticity in her muscles. Once the spasticity is removed by surgery, he predicts she should get up to full flexion, with physio. This is massive, it basically means that she should have a good heel strike in both feet when walking and running, and will stand, balanced on flat feet. He doesn't always give a prediction on how long patients will take to walk unaided, or reach there predicted targets, but, seemed confident that Sophia would be walking within a year !! Again, this is a huge, huge prediction for us and better than we could have ever had hoped for. Nothing is guaranteed but it is a great target for us to aim for.

So, all in all,  it was great day for Sophia and underlined that this is definitely the right thing for her.

Day off today, before pre-op video assessment tomorrow, but plans to go to the zoo have been washed out by a thunderstorm.  The Magic House it is then !!

Finally here !!!!!

So after 20 long hours of travelling, we've made it to St Louis.

Sophia has been amazing, she really is a great flyer. Finally, gave in to sleep at Dallas airport but hardly a winge out of her the whole way here !!

Already, we've met so many kind people, from the, predominently glaswegian BA crew who pushed us through passport control at Dallas, to the kind lady from St Louis, who insisted on taking our details so she could phone up after Thursday, to see how it all went.It has already been an adventure !!

First hospital appointment tomorrow, so, bed now in prep for a big day !!

Having a problem uploading photos. Will sort it out tomorrow

St Louis Children's Hospital

So, on Sunday we fly out to St Louis for the next chapter in Sophia's adventure. We will finally get to meet the very famous Dr T S Park, who pioneered SDR surgery back in the '80's and has now carried it out over 2500 times. We have read so much about him and SDR. Can't quite believe that our dream is about to become reality.
There was a great six-part documentary about the hospital recently. I'd recommend watching all of it, but in particular, episodes 4 and 6 are partly about SDR and the aftercare. Check them out below.

www.youtube.com/user/thefrontlineforhope

The hospital is rated #2 in America for Paediatric Neurosurgery, which is very reassuring and a big factor in our original decision. But, more importantly, the feedback from families who have been over there is overwhelmingly positive. From the professionalism and friendliness of all the staff, the overall service and the little things they do to make children feel more comfortable. The clown docs, do "rounds" daily and the window cleaners, below, apparently don't need ladders !!

£65'000 - You've Done It !!!!!!!

Wow !!!!! Thank you so, so much to everyone x x x

Back in April, we decided to embark on the biggest challenge of our lives and attempt to give Sophia the best, possible, chance of walking unaided. We had no idea how long it would take to raise our target, or if it would even be possible, but we had to try. Never in our wildest dreams, did we expect that five very short months later we would have smashed through our target and be on our way to St Louis. But, in less than a week, that's exactly where we are going !!

Raising £65'000 is a massively daunting target but we are so, so lucky to have an amazing family and fantastic friends, not forgetting lots of  very generous strangers who have made this almost impossible task, a reality. Fundraising has taken place all over the world with challenges and events in England, Scotland, Hong Kong , Australia and Afghanistan.

It is so difficult to actually express how much this has all meant to us, there just doesn't seem to be enough words. Everybody's kindness, support and generosity has been completely overwhelming, you are all truly amazing people. There hasn't been a day when we haven't been shown how wonderful and caring everyone around us is. We are so lucky to have so many people behind us that want our little girl's dream to come true.

 Please keep checking the website and facebook page. We will keep you all posted with Sophia's progress in St Louis and back in the UK.

So, once again, from the bottom of our hearts... Thank You. You have taken a little girl one step closer to her dream to walk x x x

A Touch Of Tartan - MK II

Another Touch Of Tartan Ceilidh will be taking place this Saturday 05th October, this time in Hong Kong !!!

Sophia's Auntie Paula and Uncle Tim have been a massive support throughout our fundraising campaign and wanted to plan their own event on the other side of the world.

 

Over 170 tickets have been bought, so far, for the night at AIA Central. There will be fine Scottish cuisine, an auction with some amazing prizes donated by some very generous friends and, of course, Scottish country dancing, with Ian Carmichael playing and calling the steps.

Have a great night everyone, we wish we could be there to join you and thank you for all your support x x x

Lemonade & Cupcakes On The Hong Kong Peak

What a fabulous effort from Riley & Tess Dougan in Hong Kong who organised a lemonade & cupcake stall on Hong Kong Peak..especially for Sophia!

Assisted by Sophia's big cousins, Luca & Finn and friends Eva & Olivia Lloyd they offered"refreshments" to parched locals & tourists and raised £140 in 90 minutes until the heavens opened in a BIG WAY and they had to race back out to check their wet money boxes.




What an amazing effort especially all that cake baking by Tess (age 9). Thank you so much, you are all fundraising stars xxx

Some more great sponsored events !!

We've not been able to blog for a while, but it's been a busy time for fundraisers, with a mass of sponsored challenges taking place .

Gemma Patchett and her friend Claudia, attempted the West Highland Way, raising £1000 for Sophia in the process. This was an amazing achievement considering Claudia had to pull out due to illness, midway through and Gemma carried on alone for two days. 

Ginny Allsworth, completed the Doitforcharity.com London to Brighton bike race for Sophia. The route was over 54 miles and she completed it in 6 hour. Ginny has raised almost £800 for Sophia !!

Lauren Ainsley, completed the Cheltenham half marathon last weekend. In the wind and rain, she managed to do it in a speedy 1 hr 52 mins and raised a brilliant £388.10 in the process. 

And then, on the same day, five of the guys at Bombardier, North Park completed the Dunmow triathlon. Between them all , they have, so far, managed to raise £805 with money still to be collected !!

I think the most amazing thing about these brilliant people is that none of them have actually met Sophia !! Yet, after hearing her story through friends and family, offered to do something to help our little girl. We will be forever grateful to all of you and everyone else who has challenged themselves to help Sophia walk. Thank you so, so much x x x

Radio Oxford - Phil Gayle Breakfast Show

Tara & Sophia are going to be on the Phil Gayle show, on Radio Oxford again tomorrow morning !! This time a pre-recorded interview at our house. We've been told it will be in 2 parts, the first at around 8.30 and the next about an hour later !! Depending on the editing, you might hear a lot of Sophia, she took a shine to Phil and was very talkative on the day !! So please tune in

Rachael Brownrigg, Lyndsey Freeman & Air Tanker

We want to say a massive, massive thank you to the brilliant Rachael Brownrigg and her colleague Lyndsey Freeman at Air Tanker. They've managed to organise 2 great events now at RAF Brize Norton and raised a cracking £713.21 for Sophia !!!
They first held a cake sale at Air Tanker back in July, managing to rope in a load of bakers to the cause, and raised almost £400. Then, on Thursday night, they held a cheese and wine party at the Fire Bar on camp. We were, luckily, able to bring Sophia along this time and she had a brilliant time dancing with her new friend Jessica and sampling just about every cracker on the table before putting them back !!
Big, big thanks to everyone involved in the two events. But most of all thank you to Rachael and Lyndsey, you have both been amazing x

Sophia's Stepping Stones In Stow

We had another great night last week in Stow In The Wold. Our great friend, Claire Murphy, organised a BBQ and Band night at The Old Stocks Hotel in aid of Sophia.
Claire worked tirelessly for months organising bands, ticket sales, raffle prizes, etc and it really paid off, the garden at the back of the hotel was heaving with every ticket sold. Everyone had a fantastic time providing a great atmosphere.
The night raised a huge £3300 !! So, thank you to everyone who joined us, helped organise and set up, but most of all to Claire. You did an amazing job x x x

kidzcome1stnow.webs.com

      Sophia, daddy, mummy and nanny recently had a fantastic holiday at Haven Holiday Park, Caister on Sea thanks to our friends at disabled children's charity Kidz Come 1st Now. We were really lucky to enjoy some great weather and, as you can see from the photos, Sophia loved all the activities available and the beautiful beaches of Norfolk.
      The charity offers families with disabled children help with essential equipment and anything else that there children may need to make there lives more comfortable. They also aim to give respite care and have recently acquired their first holiday home in Caister.
      We are so so grateful to Ruky and all the generous fundraisers and staff at Kidz Come 1st Now. Thank you so much for an amazing holiday x x x

Another Fundraising Superstar !!!

This amazing little girl, Sophia's cousin Emily Aitken, has raised a massive £2377.82 !!! 

Emily decided that she wanted to do something and, with the help of her sister Sophie, wrote a speech about Sophia, Cerebral Palsy and our fundraising. She then presented her speech to 4 masses at St Cadoc's Church in Newton Mearns and her sister, mum and grandmother sold some tablet to the congregation.

You should be very proud of yourself Emily, we certainly are. It must have been a great speech to have raised such a massive amount, we would love to hear it when we come up to Glasgow.

Thank you, so much to Emily, Sophie, Colette, Gran & the congregation of St Cadoc's

The Cross Family Are At It Again !!!!

They just keep giving !! This time, Ellie Cross, decided to jump out of a plane in aid of Sophia. Bearing in mind that Ellie is only 16, this was a pretty brave challenge to undertake and possibly even braver for her parents, Paula & Loz, to support her. Mind you, Loz is a Parachute Jump Instructor in the RAF, so she couldn't be in safer hands.

We all headed down to the London Parachute School near Benson on Saturday the 10th of August to support Ellie and she LOVED it !! Check out the link at the bottom for proof.

We've just heard that Ellie raised a huge £500 for Sophia. Thank you so much to Ellie and all the Cross family. Love Sophia, Andy &Tara  x x x

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfNRISYbN_U

Sophia's Brilliant Big Cousins

Sophia's big cousins have been busy this summer. Tilly, Luca, Seth, Finn & Esther set up a stall outside their house selling homemade lemonade AND THEIR TOYS !!!!!
They all worked really hard for 3 days and raised £87.50 for Sophia. Thank you very much x x x

£1520 !!!!!

That was the amazing total raised for Sophia by Auntie Emma !!

Auntie Emma hosted a "Girls' Night In For Sophia" at her house in Glasgow, raising £567 and then nearly trebled the total with a fantastic raffle. With the help of family and friends, she worked tirelessly organising the event, collecting raffle prizes and selling tickets. Thanks to everyone who supported and helped, especially Nana Eleanor x
Here's Sophia's favourite photo of her Auntie !!

216 Squadron @ RAF Brize Norton

A massive thank you to Daddy's old colleagues at 216 Squadron, RAF Brize Norton, who have been passing around a collection tin during leaving do's and their monthly beer calls. We were given an overflowing tin by them which contained £197.87 !!! Thank You

Our Local Schools

While we were away having a break, the kids in our local schools certainly weren't !!
Over the last few weeks of term, there has been a wave of fundraising all over Oxfordshire. Carterton Community College started the ball rolling with a non-uniform day raising a brilliant £445.63. Church Cowley St James CE Primary then had there own  non-uniform day and cake sale, also raising over £400 !! Two days later Clanfield CE Primary had a non-uniform day, total raised to be confirmed. Another school, Burford Primary raised a fantastic £81 from cake and t-shirt sales. And finally, Brize Norton Primary took part in a sponsored walk, covering 290 miles and raising a mind-boggling £1377.62 !!!
We can not thank the organisers, teachers, parents and especially the amazing children of all of these schools enough. xxx

FITBeing Bootcamp

What a morning we had today at the FITBeing Bootcamp for Sophia on Witney Leys. We really had  a fantastic time being out through our paces by Toby & Bear. In fact, Sophia even managed to get round an improvised assault course while we were all warming up. A total of £133 was raised for Sophia thanks to a great turn out and Toby & Clare were also able to raise some money for their chosen charity, Macmillan Cancer.

Thank you to everyone who joined in and especially Toby & Clare Goodchild, who organised a great event for Sophia. Check out their website www.fitbeing.co.uk for some real inspiration.

A New Slide

Just received a brilliant garden slide for Sophia. It's at the perfect height for her, meaning she can do it all herself and Mummy and Daddy can have a sit down !!!
Thank you to Mr & Mrs Foreman for the great gift x x x

Thank You Jenny Rogers !!!

We can't thank this amazing woman enough. Our great, great friend Jenny Rogers wanted to do the 3 peaks with us but when she realised that she couldn't do it that weekend, she vowed to do something to raise money for Sophia.
So, Jenny started to train hard and on Sunday 14th July, ran the British 10 Km London Run on her own !! Not sure if Jenny wants me to post her time but it was a cracker !! And to top it all off, she raised an amazing £945 !!! All on her own !!!
Thank you Jenny, you are an absolute star x x x

3 Heroes In Afghanistan

What a feat !! These 3 guys had just ran a half marathon in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan in 30 degree heat at the same altitude as Snowdonia, all in aid of Sophia and they look like they could do it again !!

Karl Milgate heard about Sophia's campaign through friends and told us he wanted to help raise some money and awareness for our cause. He also manged to rope in his colleagues, John Craffey & Jacko. The guys have manged to raise over £300. Well done and thank you so much. Hopefully we can buy you all a cold beer on your return.

Carterton Football Club To Help Sophia Reach Her Goal

The committee at Carterton Football Club have very kindly offered to partner Sophia's Stepping Stones in her goal to walk !!
Tom, Kevin & Elaine spoke to us, at A Touch Of Tartan, about their offer and after a meeting this week, we have agreed for Sophia's Stepping Stones to be the clubs main beneficiary for the coming season.

Sophia's logo will be on the teams strips and we have pencilled in dates for a number of joint events, for all families to come along and enjoy:

• Aug 3rd Adult 6 a Side.
• Aug 17th Party on the Pitch.
• Sept TBC Cooking Masterclasses with Ed Baines.
• Nov 1st Family Fancy Dress Halloween Party.
• December 22nd Family Christmas Party.

This is another example of how our community has come together to help Sophia walk and we are so, so grateful to them. 

Thank you CFC. Hopefully, we will all see Sophia lining up in one of your team photos in a few years time !!! x x x

You can keep up to date with events organised at - http://www.cartertonfc.com

Brize Norton Primary School

Thanks to Mr Smith, the Head at Brize Norton Primary School, for inviting us in to talk about Sophia, Cerebral Palsy and our fundraising. Sophia, Mummy & Daddy went in and gave an assembly talk to all of the pupils. We then went round each class and answered some very intelligent and tricky questions. Sophia had a great time and took so much to the year 6's, that she started handing out animal stickers to everyone !!
The school are doing a sponsored countryside walk, in aid of Sophia, next week. Good luck everyone x

A Touch Of Tartan

What a brilliant, brilliant night we had last night !!! Thank you to everyone who joined us and made the event a massive success. William Healey kicked off the evening with an awesome set, sporting Sophia's Stepping Stones t-shirt. Then Saedly Dorus & The Hoolie Band took to the stage and it wasn't long before everyone got into the 70's Ceilidh groove !!!! A mass of people took to the floor and we were delighted to see so many smiling faces.
It was great to acknowledge the fantastic help that we have had from our good friends Jane, Daz, Simone, Steve & Angie throughout our campaign. These guys have been our rocks and we wouldn't be anywhere near our total so far without them.
With the raffle last night and all ticket sales included, we raised a grand total of £3195 !!!!
We can not thank you all enough for your generosity and support. You have made this event one to remember, especially the sight of all those swinging kilts in Witney.  x x x

Marc & Sammy Alexander

These two legends in the middle here, are not only good, good friends of Sophia's Stepping Stones but also, it turns out,  fundraising machines !!! And Marc & Sammy Alexander have been at it again, competing in Mud Runner Oblivion last Saturday in aid of Sophia.
Thank you guys, Love Ya x x x

Th Jack O'Donnell Foundation

We have just returned from an amazing meeting with Alison, David & Dave, patrons of the Jack O'Donnell Foundation.

JODF aim to fund life-changing/saving treatment to young people who are in great need and to give inspiration and support to children to help them achieve their potential in the sports they love.

You couldn't meet more kind, sincere and generous people and they have offered Sophia a totally amazing donation to help her walk.

Thank you, so very much JODF. Words can't explain how grateful we are to you x x x x

Please, please check out the foundations website, these guys do amazing things -  www.jodf.org

The 3 Peaks Challenge

Well done and thank you to daddy and 11 friends, who completed the 3 peaks challenge on Sunday. They came across a lot of obstacles on the way including getting stuck up Scafell Pike for over an hour, in the middle of the night !! But, they were determined to complete the challenge and did so on Sunday afternoon. They have raised a massive amount of money, so large that it is still being counted. We we will announce the amount raised as soon as possible.

The Big Weekend

We have a big, big weekend ahead of us full of events and sponsored challenges.

Starting tomorrow, Sophia is the guest of honour and will open The Manor Prep. School Summer Fete in Abingdon.

On Saturday, Kriss Kross Salon, Carterton are having a gents haircut day. All gents haircuts will be £10, Paula & Nikki will be cutting and are donating every penny to Sophia's Fund. Get your Men booked in now 01993-843908. Also, all the Girls that work there are donating their tips that day. An amazing offer x

Up in Glasgow, on Saturday, Uncle Brian has organised a Partick Thistle Supporters Charity Football Match, "Old Yins v The Young Team". All proceeds going to Sophia. x

Our good friends Marc & Sammy Alexander are competing in Mud Runner Oblivion : The Dirty Weekend. Best of luck guys x

And finally, Daddy, 12 mates & 4 Drivers !!! are attempting the 3 peaks challenge from Saturday morning. That's Nevis, Scafell Pike, Snowdon and all the driving in between within 24 hours. Over 26 miles hiking and 460 miles driving ( If Keith Jones doesn't get lost !!) If you would like to sponsor any of these fine specimens, you can find there justgiving link on their facebook pages or please use www.justgiving.com/Andrew-For-Sophia.

The hardy competitors are -

Andrew Aitken
Paul Edgar
Lloyd Pink
Mark Morley
Sam Atkin
Oliver Atkin
Mark Ellison
Christopher Bass
Luke Gilchrist
Kyle Cotterill
Matthew McLauchlan
Davy Hall
Tango !!!

Have A Great Time Everyone and Good Luck !!!!!

The Malcolm Boyden Show - BBC Oxford

Thanks to our quick-thinking friend Michelle Tooth, who phoned up the station and talked about our campaign, we had the pleasure of being invited on to the mid-morning Malcolm Boyden show on BBC Radio Oxford Show.
A very nervous, Mummy & Daddy talked to Malcolm about Sophia's story, condition and our fundraising campaign. Think we may have found a future radio star in Mummy who was very  informative and articulate as well as emotional !!
The full interview is in the link below, starting at 7 mins 45 secs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01b6cxt

Tipper's Bike Ride

Many thanks to daddy's colleague, Chris Tipper, who cycled the London to Brighton Bike Ride in aid of Sophia. With only a days notice, Chris has managed to raise £160 for Sophia and the donations are still coming in !! Thanks Chris, you're a hero

New events

New events are coming in thick and fast -

Uncle Brian has organised a Partick Thistle Supporters Football Tournament next week, on the 29th June.
Auntie Emma has organised a Girls Pamper night at her house in Glasgow on the 10th August.
And Julie Amanda Smith, partner of daddy's colleague, Zu, has organised the JAS Salsa Charity Party at The Falcon Hotel, Peterborough on the 7th September.

All details will be added to the website and facebook page. Thanks for all your efforts everyone x

3 Cakes !!!!

How much can you make from 3 cakes ? We'll daddy's colleague Asha Delpesche managed to make a mammoth £502 !!!! She held a raffle in work, the prizes were 3 cakes baked to order. Not only did Asha work tirelessly baking but spent two weeks selling over 250 tickets to all the guys on the depot, although they didn't need much persuasion !! Unfortunately, the prizes didn't last long enough to get a photo. Thank you Asha and everyone who bought tickets x

Charlie The Wonder Horse !!!

Mummy took Sophia to her now weekly horse riding lesson at the Abingdon RDA ( Riding for the Disabled Association ). Horse riding is not only great fun but also very good physiotherapy. The sitting position and movement stretch Sophia's muscles and help strengthen her core. As she rides around we do stretching exercises and play games to promote this. Sophia really loves her horse, Charlie, and the instructor, Anne, has said that she is a natural.

Hospital today to get fitted out with some new insoles for Sophia's Piedro's. These are designed for children with gait problems, keeping the foot and ankle in the correct alignment.

Happy Fathers Day

Had a great day today TOPPED off with a beautiful hat !!!!!!