The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A cerebral palsy sufferer has had her life “transformed” by a powered wheelchair bought with the support of the South Holland community.
Phoebe Matthews (16), a spastic quadraplegic, can now stand when she wants to – not only offering her more independence and less frustration in certain situations, but helping an important part of her physiotherapy programme.
Fundraising for the wheelchair was completed within a week of The Voice publicising the cause last September and it was delivered on December 21.
Mum Amanda said: “It made her Christmas. Instead of counting how many sleeps there were until Christmas, Phoebe was saying ‘how many sleeps until my chair comes?’ That was all she wanted, and when it came she couldn’t wait to get in it.
“For her to be able to stand has transformed her life. We went to Morrisons and, for the first time, she was able to stand and look at the DVDs.
“We went to Sandringham and Bourne Woods over the Christmas holidays and it was just lovely.”
The chair, which goes 14 miles on a full charge, has many features which Phoebe is starting to get used to and benefit from. It also lies flat which helps Amanda and husband Shaun when they carry out Phoebe’s “cares” away from home.
Amanda added: “It’s rear wheel drive, which she is having to get used to, but she’s getting there.
“She absolutely loves it and we’re all very grateful.”
The EasyRise Genie V.2 was bought with contributions from Spalding and District Round Table (£6,000), The Iris O’Brien Foundation (£2,500), Holbeach charity shop Chosen (£1,000), and Spalding accountants Moore Thompson (£500). An online appeal for donations added £2,300 and Voice readers brought money into our reception.
