A team of 35 family members and friends of 3-year-old Orlaith Quinn, who was born with a muscular condition affecting her mobility, cycled 126 miles from Birmingham to London last weekend to raise money for a local Birmingham charity.
The group of cyclists were inspired by Orlaith, now nearly 4 years of age, who has been benefiting from the charity NICE’s services for 3 years.
Orlaith was born with a condition affecting all of the muscles in her body that has made achieving normal patterns of movement more difficult and significantly delayed her physical development, making typical childhood milestones such as crawling and walking more difficult to achieve.
The team at NICE, a Centre for Movement Disorders, have worked with Orlaith weekly in their Red Boots Nursery service and have been vital in the progress she has made, family members have said.
Provided at no cost to families, this free service for children aged 3-5 is a key stage in their lives, enabling them to develop their movement skills, confidence and social skills alongside academic learning.
Conductive Education, the type of work done with Orlaith, is a form of specialised neuro-rehabilitation for children and adults with movement disorders such as cerebral palsy, dyspraxia, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, stroke and acquired brain injury.
The OrlaithTheWayToLondon challenge last weekend was born out of Orlaith’s family wanting to take on a physical challenge that would push themselves out of their comfort zones, as “a reminder of the challenges faced by everyone who comes to NICE”.
The OrlaithTheWayToLondon team have raised over £47,000 so far, which could fund over a year of services in Red Boots Nursery for a group of children like Orlaith.
You can donate here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=CarolineQuinn8&pageUrl=1
