YOU'VE done it! Just seven weeks after the launch of a campaign to help buy brave toddler George Tappenden the wheelchair he needs to change his life, Advertiser readers have come up trumps.
George's family have reached the £21,000 target needed to buy the Snap Dragon chair for the 18-month-old from Addiscombe.
Diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) just before Christmas, George cannot stand, sit up unaided or play properly with his little sister.
His mother Lucy Frost, 33, and father, Anthony Tappenden, launched a huge fundraising drive to buy the chair, which will give George the ability to enjoy the life of a typical, happy toddler.
Now, thanks to your fundraising efforts, George will be in his chair in as little as three months' time.
Lucy, of Wydehurst Road, Addiscombe, said: "We want to thank all the Advertiser readers who donated, all the people who put on raffles or quiz nights, the Axis Foundation [who donated £3,000] and the Annabelle Rose Foundation for their huge donations, and just everyone who helped in Addiscombe and around Shirley.
"It's hard to believe that it was just before Christmas that we were told George had SMA, and when we were told how much the chair cost it felt like we were never going to get there – but we did.
"What is very hard as a mother is knowing that George will get worse, and everything he ever needs or uses is going to have to be designed to him. That's why I hope people continue to be so kind and support us.
"We don't expect people to keep donating as we know times are tough and they've already been so generous, but we will be putting on auctions and a ball and that kind of thing."
Lucy cannot wait to receive the chair, which George was given the opportunity to try out last month.
