Voice Online :: Cash battle for brave = Harvey


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Young Voices

Search: =20

Cash=20 battle for brave Harvey

BY=20 Maxine Myers

FAMILY UNITED: Harvey with mum, dad and = sister=20

=0A=

Three-year-old = needs =A340,000=20 to walk=20

LITTLE HARVEY Parry has packed a lot = into his=20 short life. At just three years old he has had to face = adversity and=20 obstacles that many adults would struggle with, yet he = remains a=20 bubbly, friendly=20

and outgoing young boy.=20

When The Voice first highlighted = Harvey=92s=20 plight he had suffered from meningitis meningococcal = septicaemia, at=20 just 15 months, a potentially deadly brain bug which = severely=20 attacked his body.=20

He survived but doctors were forced = to=20 amputate little Harvey=92s legs well above the knees and a = right part=20 of his arm, in order to save his life. Harvey endured the = surgery=20 and the NHS provided him=20

with prosthetic legs.=20

However, the limitations of these = legs were=20 evident, as they wouldn=92t even allow him to walk.=20

=93They often fall off and look = unrealistic.=20 They were not the same colour as his skin and were also very = heavy=20 and uncomfortable. They do not look like legs at all. When I = go to=20 pick Harvey up, he often=20

would say, =91No I am walking = upstairs=92, but the=20 reality is he can=92t,=94 says devoted mum Carol Parry.=20

Watching Harvey struggle to walk was = heartbreaking for Carol and her husband Jonathon.=20

LIMBS=20

Their local NHS Trust refused to pay = for=20 special limbs for Harvey. So, determined to provide a better =

quality of life for their little = boy, the=20 Parrys launched a campaign to raise money to acquire=20 state-of-the-art prosthetic limbs to help him walk. It costs = =A340,000=20 each time for Harvey to be fitted with=20

new limbs.=20

The public heard their pleas for = help and=20 donated generously to their son=92s appeal. The ecstatic = family were=20 able to fly to New York last year and enlist the help of = private=20 company, A Step Ahead Prosthetics, who are recognised = worldwide as a=20 leader and innovator in prosthetic design. The company also = provided=20

Harvey with physiotherapy and = mobility=20 training.=20

However, the joy was shortlived as = Harvey has=20 begun to outgrow his special limbs, and once again the = Parrys face a=20 battle to raise =A340,000 for a new set of artificial limbs. =

REPLACED=20

=93The legs are due to be completely = replaced.=20 We need to buy new feet, sockets and new gels. Right now we = are in a=20 very desperate situation, I need help. I can=92t let him = down and I=92m=20 begging for Voice readers to send money now,=94 Carol said.=20 Worryingly, Harvey=92s legs are beginning to cause him pain. = After a=20 few hours he cries for them to be taken off.=20

This is in stark contrast to when = the toddler=20 first received the legs.=20

=93When he put those legs on there = was no pain=20 and I just knew that he was going to walk again,=94 said = Harvey=92s=20 tearful mother.=20

The legs initially enabled Harvey to = do a=20 variety of things, such as stand over the sink and brush his = teeth=20 and cheekily sneak into the kitchen cupboards to take food.=20

=93The legs improved his life = immensely. He=92s=20 discovered so much more of the world, he=92s a lot more = independent=20 now because he has the freedom to walk,=94 Carol explained.=20

CHANGED=20

After Harvey received his new legs = his=20 personality changed and Carol can=92t face the prospect of = him having=20 to return to a wheelchair.=20

=93His personality has come right = out. He=92s so=20 much more talkative, boisterous. He is now at the same size = as other=20 little children at nursery and his whole character has = changed,=94 she=20 said.=20

Desperate to raise the funds, Carol = has taken=20 to the streets of London, tirelessly campaigning=20

on Harvey=92s behalf and alerting = passers by to=20 her son=92s plight. She said that she has been overwhelmed = by=20

public support.=20

=93We have been on TV and in = newspapers so when=20 people do see us on the streets they do give me money. A man = came up=20 to me at the launderette and gave me =A320, and people knock = on my=20 door to give me money. Every penny counts,=94 she said.=20

=93We as a family are very = appreciative of the=20 people that has helped us with Harvey, and without their = help we=20 wouldn=92t have been able to send him to New York.=94 = However, the=20 family faced a=20

setback when their home was broken = into whilst=20 they were away in America, and some of the money=20

donated to Harvey=92s appeal was = stolen. =93A=20 dirty dog had broken into our home and opened our=20

mail because they knew that we were = going to=20 be going away. We had =A32,500 in cheques,=94 said Carol.=20

She is adamant that she does not = want to waste=20 time on the perpetrators but has admitted that the constant=20 campaigning and worry about her son=92s future has taken its = toll.=20

STRONG=20

=93I have to be strong for him. It = is so easy to=20 look at your baby and think =91I could just commit = suicide,=92 but when=20 there is people helping you that gives me the courage to go = on=20 everyday. If I didn=92t have that support I would have = jumped out the=20 window a long time ago,=94 she admits.=20

The family hope to be able to fit = Harvey with=20 his new legs this year, as well as provide more = physiotherapy. =93If=20 anyone can help raise money for Harvey, we would be = thrilled. He is=20 like any normal=20

three-year-old but he just hasn=92t = got legs. We=20 just want him to be able to live normal life,=94 Carol said. =

* To make a difference to Harvey=92s = life visit=20 www.harveyparry-appealfund.com.=20

Donations can be made via paypal or = to=20 Barclays Bank, account number 10628034, sort code 20-29-60. =

Published: 23 February 2009
Issue:=20 1360