A plucky little girl, Cerys has inspired the vending industry to put our collective hands in our pockets and PV was delighted to receive this update today from the AVA complete with pictures and video of how she is doing after her surgery in the US. Click through to her Facebook page and join the group to follow her progress.
Here is a link to the video – which is hosted on Facebook too.
‘A little over a year ago, the generosity of the UK vending industry raised thousands of pounds to help fly Cerys Griffiths, who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, to the US for life changing surgery.
After being denied the operation in the UK, Cerys’ mother Alison and father Gwyn, who works for RPC Tedeco-Gizeh at Kenfig, faced the difficult task of generating the money to fund the treatment overseas.
By Christmas 2014, over £50,000 had been raised for the cause and in July 2015, Cerys and her family flew to St Louis Hospital in the US to begin her treatment and journey towards a more independent future.
The specialist operation called SDR (selective dorsal rhizotomy), was carried out to remove the spasticity and stiffness in Cerys’s legs as well as the pain she experienced when standing and the night spasms she suffered with. She also underwent tendon lengthening procedures.
Both of the operations were a success and have already started to make a difference to her life. Cerys is now having physical and strengthening therapy at least five times a week, which will continue for five years.
As always, she is showing real determination and courage and working very hard to achieve her full potential. She is already back to full strength after the operations and achieving things that she would not have been able to do before the surgery.
Cerys’ father, Gwyn Griffiths, said: “She is doing fantastically well with her unaided sitting and is starting to take supported steps at home – a huge achievement considering she wasn’t even able to roll over before her surgery.
“Thanks to everyone’s support in raising such a fantastic amount before we took her to America, we have been able to convert a room at home into her very own therapy room with specialist equipment so she can also work hard at home.
“We feel truly blessed to have such a special daughter and we can’t thank everyone in the vending industry enough for their support.”
Cerys recently celebrated her seventh birthday and is looking forward to a more comfortable and independent future.’
