SHE’S done it! A little girl with cerebral palsy will be given a life-changing operation this October after £31,000 was raised in just over a month.
Thousands have now donated to help six-year-old Skye Cowan after her desperate parents Steve and Jo battled to secure her place for treatment.
And with the hard work of her family and a host of charity fundraisers determined to help, it has finally been confirmed that the schoolgirl has secured her place at the St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri in a month’s time.
Steve said he has been left “totally overwhelmed” by the generosity of those who have donated, many of whom he has never met.
“We just couldn’t have done it without the Daily Echo,” he said.
“It wouldn’t have happened. The support of the paper has made such a huge difference and that’s blown us away.”
Skye will fly to America at the end of September for her operation on October 1.
She will spend a month recovering at the hospital before returning home for two years of gruelling physiotherapy.
Her story touched the hearts of readers, who donated thousands of pounds to the cause.
Steve said: “Now this part of her journey is over, I think everything is quite surreal for all of us.
“It has been so frantic – every hour counted. Now I feel weightless. I hadn’t even realised how much pressure has been on all of us. It’s a very strange feeling.”
The loving dad enjoyed his first full night of sleep in “months and months” at the weekend.
He said: “You’re sleeping for a couple of hours, and then waking up and immediately checking PayPal or JustGiving to see if the total has changed.
“When it’s your daughter, it consumes your life. You’d do anything to make sure she gets what she needs.”
He said the operation will transform Skye’s life.
“It will change everything for her,” he said.
“Her whole life will change because of the kindness of people she has never met. It’s unbelievable.”
The family will now start fundraising for Skye’s post-operative physiotherapy.
To donate, send a cheque made out to Help Fund Skye to the Daily Echo offices in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth.
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