Parents amazed at daughter’s fight against hemiplegic cerebral palsy

10:40am Wednesday 17th December 2008

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IT’S the Christmas gift that one Hampshire family never dared dream would arrive.

Three-year-old Summer Jones will be able to open her own Christmas presents for the first time this year after showing an amazing fight against a debilitating condition.

Just 15 months ago little Summer, from Fareham, was unable to even crawl after being diagnosed with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, which left her unable to co-ordinate the right side of her body.

But thanks to the dedication of staff at the Rainbow Centre, Summer has transformed her life, walking and running around like any other toddler.

Summer was first diagnosed aged 18 months, leaving mum Anna Laishley and dad Marcus Jones, a designer for B&Q, fearing their youngest daughter may never walk.

They took Summer to the Rainbow Centre in Fareham, which supports youngsters with severe cerebral palsy, where she shocked everyone with her rapid progress.

Now Summer can look forward to a happy Christmas and going to a mainstream school, something Anna thought would never happen.

Anna, 38, of Somervell Drive, said: “It was devastating.

We went from thinking we had a healthy child to being told she was disabled and may never walk. It was very frightening, so to see her now is amazing.

“Within just weeks at the centre she went from finding it difficult to crawl to walking around without a care in the world. Now she’s running around and doing things we never dared dream she would do.

“That’s all down to the hard-working staff at the Rainbow Centre. Thanks to them Summer will be able to open her Christmas presents by herself. We can’t thank them enough for this fantastic gift that will last a lifetime.”

The Rainbow Centre has been hit by the credit crunch and is finding it difficult to raise the £40,000 needed every month to continue to deliver services.

Co-founder Helen Somerset How said: “Fundraising is getting much harder with the down-turn in the economy. I can’t emphasise enough how important it is for us to have continued support to ensure families like Summer’s can be helped.”