Housebuilder helps fund life-changing surgery for four-year-old Burgess Hill girl

Persimmon Homes Thames Valley has donated £1,000 to Annabelle Carter who has cerebral palsy in all four of her limbs and cannot sit or stand unaided and cannot walk.

She needs a Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) operation which corrects muscle spasticity by cutting the nerve rootlets in the spinal cord that are sending abnormal signals to the muscles.

The operation is not available on the NHS for children with Annabelle’s level of cerebral palsy so a fundraising appeal was started by her parents.

Annabelle’s mum, Rochelle said: “We are very grateful to Persimmon Homes for their kind donation.

“When we contacted them we were still £4,840 short of the £34,500 we needed to raise for the surgery alone – we hadn’t even begun to think about the costs of the intensive post op therapy she will need for the two years after surgery.

“The £1,000 from Persimmon Homes Thames Valley – along with some other donations – has taken us to that magic total needed!

“Annabelle has been accepted for the surgery which can now take place in January.

“A weight has been lifted off our shoulders knowing surgery is covered and we can now focus on fundraising for her post op therapy.”

She said Annabelle wants nothing more than to be able to run around the estate where she lives with all of the other children.

She added: “She spends several hours each day doing therapy, to reduce the tone in her muscles and maintain the small amount of mobility she has while at the same time working on increasing her strength.”

Persimmon Homes Thames Valley donated the funds to Just4Children though its Community Champions scheme, an initiative that matches funds raised by charities and social enterprises up to the value of £1,000.

Rachel Faulkner, sales director, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that our Community Champions funding helped the family reach their fundraising total.

“The scheme seeks to support local good causes across the region.

“If groups and charities are unsuccessful with their application one month, we urge them to visit the Persimmon Homes website and to try again.”

To find out more information about Community Champions, or to nominate a charity or organisation, visit www.persimmonhomes.com/community-champions.

Annabelle lives with her mum, Rochelle, dad, Simon, and little sister, Isla, in a new build property in Burgess Hill from Persimmon Homes’ sister brand Charles Church.

Persimmon Homes is a housebuilder based in Camberley.