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FAMILY UNITED: Harvey with mum, dad and sister

Three-year-old needs £40,000 to walk

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

and outgoing young boy.

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

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

with prosthetic legs.

However, the limitations of these legs were evident, as they wouldn’t even allow him to walk.

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

would say, ‘No I am walking upstairs’, but the reality is he can’t,” says devoted mum Carol Parry.

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

LIMBS

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

quality of life for their little boy, the Parrys launched a campaign to raise money to acquire state-of-the-art prosthetic limbs to help him walk. It costs £40,000 each time for Harvey to be fitted with

new limbs.

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

Harvey with physiotherapy and mobility training.

However, the joy was shortlived as Harvey has begun to outgrow his special limbs, and once again the Parrys face a battle to raise £40,000 for a new set of artificial limbs.

REPLACED

“The legs are due to be completely replaced. We need to buy new feet, sockets and new gels. Right now we are in a very desperate situation, I need help. I can’t let him down and I’m begging for Voice readers to send money now,” Carol said. Worryingly, Harvey’s legs are beginning to cause him pain. After a few hours he cries for them to be taken off.

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

“When he put those legs on there was no pain and I just knew that he was going to walk again,” said Harvey’s tearful mother.

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

“The legs improved his life immensely. He’s discovered so much more of the world, he’s a lot more independent now because he has the freedom to walk,” Carol explained.

CHANGED

After Harvey received his new legs his personality changed and Carol can’t face the prospect of him having to return to a wheelchair.

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

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

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

public support.

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

“We as a family are very appreciative of the people that has helped us with Harvey, and without their help we wouldn’t have been able to send him to New York.” However, the family faced a

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

donated to Harvey’s appeal was stolen. “A dirty dog had broken into our home and opened our

mail because they knew that we were going to be going away. We had £2,500 in cheques,” said Carol.

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

STRONG

“I have to be strong for him. It is so easy to look at your baby and think ‘I could just commit suicide,’ but when there is people helping you that gives me the courage to go on everyday. If I didn’t have that support I would have jumped out the window a long time ago,” she admits.

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

three-year-old but he just hasn’t got legs. We just want him to be able to live normal life,” Carol said.

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

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

Published: 23 February 2009
Issue: 1360

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