THE parents of a three-year-old boy with cerebral palsy have raised more than £23,000 for life-changing surgery which will help him walk independently.

Oliver Armstrong, from Newport, was born prematurely with his twin brother and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy spastic diplegia at 18 months after his parents realised he was not reaching his milestones, such as sitting up properly or crawling.

His parents, Jane Parker and Anthony Armstrong, are aiming to raise £60,000 to pay for Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) surgery at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, and ongoing therapy which is required afterwards.

The parents launched a fundraising appeal in February after being told funding from NHS Wales was not widely available. To date, only a small number of children have received funding for SDR operations from NHS Wales.

Ms Parker said they have since held several fundraising activities. She said: “Recently, my sister and I ran the Cardiff half marathon and a friend of ours shaved her hair off.

“The organisation of a family friend, Involve Recruitment, organised a golf day and raised £5,000.”

In total, they have raised more than £23,000 so far, the mum added, and they will be holding a charity ball night at the Celtic Manor this Saturday.

Paralympian Jordan Howe, who has cerebral palsy, will be giving a talk on the night. Tickets have sold out for the event, but they are appealing for raffle prizes.

Ms Parker, of Goodrich Crescent, in Newport, said: “Oliver is doing well, he has had the first assessment regarding the operation and it looks really positive.

“Ideally, I would like him to have the operation in May next year, just before his fourth birthday, as the younger he has the operation, the better.”

Ms Parker has previously said the surgery would be “transformational” as there is evidence to demonstrate that SDR can improve movement and walking as well as quality of life.

Oliver is not able to stand or walk independently and currently uses a frame, the mum added.

A spokesman for the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee said it cannot comment on individual cases or funding requests.

The spokeswoman added: “We care greatly about commissioning the best care for the people of Wales and our commitment is to the provision of cost-effective new treatments fairly available to all. The £200,000 of funding made available by Welsh Government for paediatric patients to undergo SDR treatment has now been fully committed.

“A decision will be made on funding for SDR following the completion of the commissioning through evaluation process, which is due to be published in autumn 2018.”

To contact Ms Parker about raffle prizes, email janetaylorparker@hotmail.co.uk

To support the appeal visit http://bit.ly/2x5ebss