You’d think 15 operations would be too much for anyone, but at 9 years of age, when we met Bailey in December 2011 he was about to have his 16th in January 2012.

…and this time his ankles would be cut, turned and bolted and his tendons cut.

9 year old Bailey from the Melbourne suburb of Berwick is one gutsy little dude. Coming into the world with a rush 8 weeks before he was due, he was later diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy Spastic Diplegia – which for Bailey means uncomfortably stiff and contracted muscles that he has had to contend with each and every day of his life.

In addition, Bailey was born with his two outer fingers missing on his right hand and his thumb and index finger fused together and unbendable.

Bailey has come through some huge challenges. He’s now had 15 operations on his legs, hands, eyes, and bladder, and has had several Botox injections into his muscles to temporarily relieve them from tightening, increase his flexibility and reduce his pain.

It’s imperative that Bailey remains as active as possible, especially after this next operation – otherwise as he gets older permanent tightness of his joints may develop.

At the moment, Bailey sits and watches the kids play on their bikes outside – his little sister Jazz can join in, but Bailey has very poor balance and needs a three wheeler trike. His therapist believes riding is not only one of the best physical therapies for Bailey, but one of the best social ones too. It would allow him to be included with his friends. As his mum Michelle says “the trike would be his legs, his freedom”.

Bailey’s trike cost $804 and we were able to raise that amount in just a few days! His trike was delivered in time for Christams – have fun Bailey!