A disabled seven-year-old schoolgirl from Forest Hill will be able to imitate her wheelchair skateboarding hero after raising money for a new chair.
Millie Ansett suffers from a type of spina bifida called myelomeningocele which means she can’t walk or control the bottom half of her body.
Speaking to News Shopper in August, Millie’s mum Irene said: “She has to have a catheter and an overnight catheter bag. She’s very bright but can’t change the catheter bag herself.”
Desperate to raise her daughter’s spirits, Mrs Ansett set up a GoFundMe page to raise £5,000 for a TiLite Twist wheelchair which would give her the freedom to practice tricks and flips at the skatepark.
After support from people in the community and fundraising drives from coffee mornings and art and craft fairs, the Ansett family has managed to reach the £5k goal and Millie’s new wheelchair is on order.
The final donation which pushed the campaign over the line came from a kind stranger at Bonhoeffer Church on Dacre Road, where Millie goes to an afterschool club.
“A woman called Debbie Laycock said she had received a donation to the church of £1,700.
“She said she wanted to give it to us to pay for the chair,” Mrs Ansett explained.
The family has not been told where the donation originally came from but have been overwhelmed by the support they have received.
“I just want to say thank you to everyone who donated. We’re really grateful.”
While the mum-of-three describes her “strong-willed” daughter as a little fighter, she admits Millie’s condition can sometimes get her down.
“She is sensitive and she takes things to heart. She suffers from anxiety and she’ll often say to me she hates being in a wheelchair.”
Millie is inspired by her hero, Aaron Fotheringham, a wheelchair skateboarding pro who was the first to do a wheelchair backflip.
Mrs Ansett also described her daughter’s new idol, Daniellability, who runs a YouTube channel giving advice to other wheelchair users.
“She’s happy there’s someone out there that she can actually relate to. There’s not much out there to be honest.
“I’m her parent so I try to teach her how to do things for herself, but it can be difficult because I’m not in a wheelchair myself.”
Millie is booked in for potentially life-changing surgery in January on her bladder and bowel.
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