A FOUR-year-old disabled girl who travelled to America to undergo a complex operation to help her walk unaided is due to have further surgery to speed up her recovery.
Ella Gilbert, who has a form of cerebral palsy, has used a treadmill and is learning to walk with sticks following the operation two weeks ago, which was carried out by surgeon Dr Tae Sung Park.
She is due to undergo another operation tomorrow(August 16) to lengthen her hamstrings and achilles tendons to enable her to place her heels flat on the ground.
Ella travelled with her mother, Caroline, of Glendower Road, Chingford, to the Children’s Hospital in St Louis, Missouri, after £38,000 was raised to pay the deposit for the £60,000 procedure, which is not available on the NHS.
She said: “Ella is doing great and getting stronger everyday.
“The Children's Hospital and Dr Park and his team here in St Louis (Missouri, America) have been absolutely fantastic.
“A number of stretching exercises are performed with Ella several times a day to help lengthen and strengthen the muscles in her thighs and calves.
“She is receiving daily physiotherapy and a week after her operation she was on a treadmill for over a minute and is now practising to walk with sticks.
“We're all missing our family and friends back at home, but are constantly getting messages of support from them all, that helps us get through the long days in hospital and we are very much looking forward to returning in a fortnight's time.”
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