Heel & Toe Children’s Charity, based in Durham, established in 2008 after a realisation that children’s therapy services were difficult to source in the North East.
It was decided early in the charity’s journey ‘that no child should be denied therapy due to a lack of money’ and that is exactly what this non-profit organisation has done since then. Heel & Toe has a huge range of success stories and has impacted the lives of hundreds of children over the years, including working with over 220 children with health conditions or impairments during the unprecedented challenges brought about during the Covid-19 pandemic.
One of those children is Siena. Siena was born in 2014, ten weeks premature weighing in at 3lbs 10oz. She required an incubator and ventilation, oxygen and a respirator from birth, as well as tube feeding. When she was 23 hours old, she was taken in for surgery due to a burst lung, and also had open heart surgery for a hole in her heart. 34 weeks after she was born, she was discharged from the hospital.
At just over a year old her parents received the diagnosis that Siena has cerebral palsy. The muscles in Siena’s legs were not strong enough to support her independently so she soon received a wheelchair and a walker, and at school was given a special chair. These aids helped with her mobility and balance while walking and soon she was able to walk while pushing her doll in a pram. Unfortunately, there was no access to therapy during the pandemic. Had Siena not been the strong, determined little girl she is this may have stopped her, but she was still able to practice her walking in the park with her walker and the assistance of her brother.
In 2020 Siena was able to start physiotherapy at Heel & Toe and since then she has improved her walking exponentially. Heel & Toe managed to remain open during the second lockdown and were able to continue to support their children with weekly therapy sessions on site with the appropriate PPE precautions. The steps taken by Heel & Toe meant that Siena was able to continue with her physiotherapy and was also able to take her first independent steps – a massive achievement that once seemed impossible for her.
Two years later, Siena now walks independently and continues to improve with each weekly session. Thanks to the therapists and specialists at Heel & Toe Siena’s sessions are creative, innovative, and fun but ultimately, they allow her to achieve results that may have previously appeared out of reach.
Dale, Siena’s Dad said: “Siena has been offered amazing opportunities to progress since attending Heel & Toe, she has been able to access a wide range of therapies since we first discovered H&T in 2019, including: Hydrotherapy, Massage therapy, a pilot of Hippotherapy & Physiotherapy just to name a few. We are so grateful for the progress Siena has made and in particular, taking her first independent steps in August 2020.
Siena loves attending therapy sessions at Heel & Toe as she feels so comfortable and at ease which means that she can happily work toward her goals.” During the pandemic Heel & Toe lost over £350,000. They are now desperately trying to recoup lost funds, so they can continue helping children across the North East receive life-changing therapy
If you are interested in helping to support Heel & Toe Children’s Charity contact them via 0191 386 8606 or visit their website via www.heelandtoe.org.uk
