Please go to the Gallery & Videos section to get some videos of Ross' progress!

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Ross's Story                                                                       

Ross Duff is nearly 3 years old and lives in East Kilbride with his Mummy, Daddy, baby sister Maisie and a dog called Hugo. He is a very handsome little boy and is loved by everyone who knows him.

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Ross was born 8 weeks and 2 days early and he has been a determined little fighter since. He is also one of the most brave little boys you will ever meet. Ross had to go to Yorkhill Children's Hospital when he was just 4 days old as he had a twisted bowl and he had to have surgery but has made a full recovery from this.

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When Ross turned 2 he was diagnosed with Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy after doctors assessing him as he was and is still not walking independently. When Ross was just a day old he was breathing by himself but then it got too much for his little body, he punctured his lung which caused lack of oxygen to his brain. This caused damage know as PVL (Periventricular Leucomalacia) and this is what has caused his Cerebral Palsy.

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Ross suffers from tight muscles in his legs which make him walk on his tip toes and it's hard for him to balance and get in and out of positions and simple things like climbing, bending down and many other things are hard for him although he tries his best all of the time. Also as Ross gets bigger these tasks become harder as the tightness gets worse and because his muscles's do not grow at the same rate as his bones this means he will start to lose mobility. This means Ross faces a future with a wheelchair as even if he can walk there will be something awkward about his walk and long distances will be especially hard for him.

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There is a ray of hope for Ross as we have now found about a procedure known as Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) which is only performed in America at St Louis Children's Hospital, Missouri by Dr Park. This is a neurosurgical procedure which  involves cutting some of the sensory nerve fibres in the spinal cord which in turn reduces the spasticity that Ross struggles with every day. This procedure is not available in the UK at this present time. Ross is also at the ideal age to have this surgery and Dr Park has confirmed that Ross will really benefit from the surgery. There have been over 50 families from the UK who have now travelled to America for this surgery and each one is a success story.

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This will be life changing for Ross and all of his family as he will be able to walk independently, run, hop, skip and jump and join in just like any other little boy or girl, also he will not be in any pain or discomfort and will help him lead a normal life where anything is possible. This surgery costs approx. £40,000 and they want to do the surgery in July this year, We know this really is alot of money and this is why we need to fundraise and any help will be greatly appreciated as it will change Ross's life and help Ross walk.

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.For Help Ross Walk  facebook page click here

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