Funds needed for wheelchair appeal

Wednesday 9th May 2012

A children's charity is urging the public to help it provide essential equipment for a disabled teenager.

Caudwell Children is making the call to help raise funds to provide a new powered wheelchair for 17-year-old Ahmed Hussain.

The teenager, from Erdington, in Birmingham needs the £24,000 wheelchair as he suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder which causes progressive muscle weakness.

Ahmed is unable to move his arms and legs and is totally dependent on friends and carers. He is also reliant on a machine to assist with his breathing following a lung collapse last year.

The charity now needs funding support to make the donation for the M400 Corpus wheelchair, which will make Ahmed more comfortable, stable and independent.

Trudi Beswick, chief executive of Caudwell Children, said: "The wheelchair will dramatically change Ahmed's life, but our funds are running low and unless we get the support of the local community donations like this will disappear.

"We are appealing for kind-hearted members of the public who may be able to fundraise or donate to Caudwell Children to come forward and help local families like the Hussains.

"Equipment like this is not available on the NHS, so Caudwell Children is a lifeline for families caring for a disabled child. We are anxious to get as much support as possible from the local community, no matter how big or small, so that we can help other children; but we can't do it alone."

Ahmed's mum and full-time carer, Shaheen, said: "The wheelchair will make a huge difference to Ahmed as not only will it give him more freedom it will also mean he is able to attend family outings without the worry and pain he currently has."

To support the appeal visit http://www.justgiving.com/Ahmed-Hussain.

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