We do everything we can to give Bertie a great childhood that is full of adventure but there is no avoiding that it is getting MUCH harder in his regular NHS chair as he grows heavier. The Ottobock is a fantastic chair and we love it but it is heavy and like most regular wheelchairs doesn’t cut it on bumpy tracks, on the beach or in the mud – all the places little boys like to go.
The Hippocampe, or Hippo, (see below) is designed by disabled people for disabled people. Bertie has been waiting nearly two years for news on whether a charity could help him fund this awesome all-terrain chair. We had great news recently. Thanks to the national charity Whizz Kidz, Bertie is on his way. He had a full fitting by UK supplier Delichon at the Kidz up North exhibition, just before he went to Great Ormond Street last week. However, as generous as the Whizz Kidz donation is, it doesn’t cover the full cost when we have to factor in the spinal cushion, headrest, harness, arm supports etc. The good news is that we only need to fundraise a further £1000 to transform Bertie’s outdoors life.
The Hippocampe is waterproof, corrosion resistant, weighs just 14kg, folds flat, can be taken on a plane as sports luggage and will fit easily in our car boot (for those epic drives down to Somerset and Cornwall). Bertie also loves it because it looks great – just like a go-kart – and when you’re a kid these things matter.
These amazing people helped us reach our goal of raising a thousand pounds.
Langton Genealogy nominated Bertie’s Hippo Appeal as one of their charities this month and a client donated £176! Thank you for nominating Bertie, Claire Miller, and thank you mystery client too. xx
Dan Briscoe nominated Bertie’s Buccaneers as his charity of choice for his 40th birthday! What a brilliant idea. We know Dan loves his wheels and have a feeling he’ll be having a go with the fantastic hippocampe! He raised £105.22 in a bucket collection. He also raised around £130 online via JustGiving for Muscular Dystrophy UK. Go Dan! Thank you Dan and thank you party guests. xx
David and Wendy Redman’s brass ensemble played Christmas tunes in Tesco at Kew, Southport on Saturday evening (3rd December) between 6 and 7.30pm and raised £301.28. Thank you and thank you Tesco customers. xx [See video below]
Christopher Gerring nominated Bertie’s charity for ‘The Singing for Fun’ group’s retiring collection at their annual Christmas show on Saturday 9th December. They raised over £300 for Bertie and the same for Medical Dogs for Diagnosis! Thank you to the group and the audience. It was a fabulous evening and even the choir (and audience) sang their hearts out. xx
Katrina Bell Jamieson, Adam Popowski and their awesome class of bodyjammers at Nuffield Health in Preston held their Christmas Party this week – a very energetic one. They raised over £100 to be split between Bertie’s Buccaneers and the Les Mills Fund for Children. Thanks guys! xx
Connor Banks, amazing young guitarist and vocalist raised £220 in an hour on the 19th December at Tesco Southport. He is super talented and incredibly generous to give up his time for Bertie like this. xx
info@bertiesbuccaneers.com