Disabled girl to join fun run with friends in wheelchair

A GIRL from Wargrave with quadriplegic cerebral palsy is to take part in the Henley half marathon family fun run on Sunday alongside about 40 of her friends and family.

Isla Pearce, five, suffered a hypoxic incident at birth and needs lots of regular therapy to help her.

She will take part in her wheelchair with the support of her grandmother, aunt and friends and hopes to start and complete the course by walking with the help of her walker.

Her parents, Richard Pearce and Debbie Lang, will be running the half marathon alongside 15 friends and family. Another five people are running the 10km, 12 are doing the 5km and between 15 and 25 others will take part in the 2km fun run.

The Run for Isla team hope to raise £10,000 which will be split between therapy for Isla, the Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice in Maidenhead, which provides specialist care and support to children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, and the Music Club in Wallingford, which provides music and movement activities for children with disabilities and additional needs. They are only £500 short of their target.

Mr Pearce said: “It looks like we’ll reach our target, which is amazing. Half of it will be for Isla’s therapy and half for two local charities, both of which support us and many other families and young children We’re fortunate we can provide a lot of support for Isla but are aware that others aren’t in the same position and these local charities genuinely change people’s lives.

“Friends and family are coming from Cornwall, Dorset, France, all round the Home Counties, London and lots of friends from Wargrave and the Henley area.

“We’re feeling tremendously excited about the people we’ve got. We’re not in our first flush of youth and the weather is supposed to be 23C so it will be challenging but we’re excited because Isla will be there and we’ve raised a lot of support for her and we’re raising money for these three causes.”

At birth, Isla had to be resuscitated and spent the first five weeks of her life in intensive care.

She has privately funded physiotherapy and other forms of intensive therapy every week, including hydrotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy. These help to increase her core strength, head control and limb strength as well as her ability to communicate.

The family also take Isla to America for specialist intensive therapy which is currently unavailable in the UK.

At the NAPA centre in Denver, Isla has three weeks of therapy which is designed to help her build new neural connections and progress towards sitting unaided, weight bearing and having better control of her upper limbs.

Mr Pearce says that the intensive course has had a visible impact on his daughter.  

He said: “For us, and other parents at the centre, we can see a difference in our children after three weeks.”

He described Isla as “bright and inquisitive” and said she has a great sense of humour and loves to cause mischief and laugh.

Mr Pearce said: “She’s excited and trying to help us organise the running pots. For her, she will think it’s the funniest thing going. She will think it’s a fantastic day and will be with a lot of people she knows.”

Mr Pearce, who celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday, and Ms Lang have been training for about three months.

He said: “We have done a half marathon before but not in the last decade. I’m not going to get a personal best but it’s going to be great. If Isla walks across the line and enjoys it that’s what it’s about.”

To nake a donation, visit www.justgiving.com/page/debbie-
lang-1692199086777