A disabled girl from Tamworth has had her dream garden created thanks to local fundraising group, Simon’s Heroes.
6 year old Isabel Mills has Septo-Optic Dysplasia (SOD), a disorder of early brain development which affects 1 in 10,000 births, the cause of which is unknown. Associated features include developmental delay, seizures, pituitary disorder, visual impairment, sleep disturbance, obesity, hearing loss and cardiac anomalies.
Isabel (Izzy) is 1 of 4 children born to Leanne and Scott Mills, and the only child to have the condition. ‘She was 8 weeks old when we noticed something was wrong’ said mum Leanne, ‘her eyes kept drifting towards the middle.’
Izzy was 5 years old when she was finally diagnosed with the condition. She struggles to walk or stand and has limited speech and impaired vision. She was classed as clinically obese at the age of 2 – a result of her limited mobility – weighing 5 1/2 stone and has since endured a strict low calorie diet to help her maintain a healthier weight. She is also limited to consuming 1 litre of fluids a day due to having diabetes insipidus, caused by a deficiency of the pituitary gland which regulates kidney function. She takes daily medication to help manage this.
Izzy’s lack of mobility has caused her left leg to turn in and she has recently undergone a type of movement therapy whereby her leg is injected with botox and put into a cast for a period of time. The treatment helps her leg muscles relax, stretch and improves the range of motion in that joint. Initial treatment has significantly corrected it, which will make life a little easier for Izzy.
Izzy is confined to her wheelchair most of the time but is encouraged to use a walking frame and spends an hour each day in a standing frame, which helps to strengthen her legs. She attends Two Rivers Primary School in Tamworth which caters for special educational needs. Despite her physical disabilities, Izzy is a very bright, creative young lady who is always smiling. She especially loves swimming, an activity the family enjoy together.
Izzy’s family have been fundraising to give her the best quality of life possible by improving her outdoor living space, somewhere she can use her walking aids with ease as well as improve her independent play and social life.
‘We are so grateful to Simon’s Heroes for stepping in and helping to create Izzy’s dream garden. It will make such a difference to her. She struggles to get around on grass in her wheelchair, and the only way she has been getting around outside is on her hands and knees which isn’t safe on the concrete areas. The new astro turf will make it so much easier for her.’ Leanne and Scott Mills.
Simon’s Heroes would like to thank The Hire Warehouse, based in Tamworth who supplied the materials and gave their time to help install it.
