THE mum of a boy with cerebral palsy says specialist equipment given to them by a charity has proved a “godsend”.

Six-year-old Hadley Brisdion, from Brockenhurst, is unable to sit, stand or walk unaided and needs a wide range of specialist equipment for his everyday care.

But with local statutory services unable to meet some of his needs, his mother, Sarah, turned to Newlife, a charity for disabled children, for help.

She said: “We discovered Newlife in 2015 when we had just funded a £6,500 wheelchair for Hadley. The wheelchair is brilliant, but sometimes if Hadley is ill or very tired he needs something that he can completely relax in. We still need to get him out and about, for instance to medical appointments. We needed a specialist pushchair for times like this – and Newlife helped us.”

She added: “More recently, we needed a standing frame for Hadley to use at home. He has this equipment at school but it is too big to transport home, which impacts on his physiotherapy at weekends and during school holidays. It is essential that Hadley is able to stand every day to reduce stiffness and pain and to increase his mobility and maintain other vital functions like digestion and bone density.”

Sarah contacted Newlife and a specialist standing frame was delivered just in time for the recent school break. She said: “It’s amazing. Hadley’s physiotherapist has recommended that he uses the stander for an hour before going to bed to help alleviate some of the pain he experiences at night. And now we have this equipment at home, we can incorporate physiotherapy into some of the fun things he likes to do during the day, without him even realising it is physio.

“Hadley isn’t mobile at the moment but the long-term aim is that he will have some ability to stand without such comprehensive equipment – the stander is vital for putting in the ground work.”

Newlife provided the specialist pushchair and standing frame through its equipment grants service. The charity also works with families to offer emergency equipment loans, often within 72 hours of an application being made.

The charity has supported 432 families in Hampshire, with equipment totalling £644,063. Currently, it is working with a further 21 families in the county with equipment needs totalling £56,154.