Digging deep for Noah’s appeal (From York Press)
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Digging deep for Noah’s appeal
8:01am Saturday 20th October 2012 in News
By Dan Bean, dan.bean@thepress.co.uk
Noah Banks at Diggerland
A MAJOR tourist attraction has joined the fundraising appeal to help a Selby boy to walk unaided.
Six-year-old Noah Banks was born eight weeks prematurely and spent the first four weeks of his life in intensive care.
He was later diagnosed with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy and his family were told he may never walk. Noah is the eldest of three boys – his brothers are Daniel, four, and Peter, one.
He is set to undergo selective dorsal rhizotomy at Leeds General Infirmary on November 15, a procedure which will help him to walk without the need of a frame, thanks to a £20,000 fundraising effort by Noah’s friends and family.
Noah’s mother, Julie, said: “Noah is very excited and we are too, and nervous because it is a long operation.
‘‘He will be in surgery most of the day. But in the long run it is the best thing for him. It will give him his independence.”
She said Noah, who attends Eggborough Primary School, would stay in hospital for up to four weeks, after which he would need physiotherapy for at least two years.
“We have hired a private physio to help us out on a daily basis. The operation costs just under £20,000 and we are raising about £20,000 for his aftercare.”
To help to pay for that specialist care, Diggerland in Castleford, where children and adults can ride and drive real JCB diggers and dumpers, has offered to donate half of all its ticket sales on Saturday, October 27, to Noah’s Appeal.
Julie said the owners of the attraction met Noah at a fundraising event and said their offer of support was “absolutely amazing”.
A spokesman for Diggerland said: “Visitors attending the fundraising day will be able to enjoy all the thrills and spills of Diggerland, ‘the Ultimate Adventure Park Experience’, while at the same time know that their admission is being donated to Noah’s worthy cause.”
For more information on the event, call 0871 2277007 or visit diggerland.com To find out more about Noah’s appeal, or to donate, email noahsappeal@live.co.uk or visit justgiving.com/JULIE-BANKS2
