KERRY'S HAND APPEAL
Our daughter Kerry was born on March 21 1996 with Congenital Malformation of her fingers. Three on each hand are affected.
During the first few weeks of Kerry's life we were comforted by many people, Doctors and Nurses included, all saying that with surgery her hands could be improved. The familiar phrase being "it's amazing what they can do these days". Hearing this we were fairly optimistic that in time Kerry would have good functioning hands.
Well Kerry has adapted well and seems to have no problems holding small objects. Problems will arise though as Kerry gets older, because the affected fingers are so short she will have difficulty in handling larger objects and using a computer keyboard for example.
Through our own research we are aware that finger lengthening is rarely practised in the UK as the success rate is not very high. Our own research has however put us in touch with Dr Norman Cowen a hand surgeon in the USA who has developed a special device to coax the growth of fingers. We visited Dr Cowen at his clinic in Maryland in June 1997 and were extremely impressed by his achievements. He advised us that Kerry would be an "Ideal Candidate" for his lengthening technique.
THE OPERATION AND HOW IT WORKS
The surgery is carried out in various stages and usually takes 2/3 years to complete. The benefits of starting as early as possible are, firstly, bone tends to graft better when the child is younger, and secondly surgery would be completed before the child starts school.
Kerry's stunted fingers to her left and right hands.
The Operation is called DISTRACTION AUGMENTATION MENOPLASTY
This involves breaking the bones and inserting metal wires. (Diagram below)
Each day the wires are slowly moved apart by a screw device. This creates a gap between the bones. When the gap is sufficient, bone is taken from the shin then grafted in to the fingers.
THE COST
The cost of Kerry's surgery is approximately £80,000. This is a huge target to meet but we are determined to raise the money to give our little girl a chance of a more fulfilling life.
Fundraising for Kerry began in October 1997 and with the help of family, friends and local people we have managed to raise sufficient funds to send Kerry to America for surgery on one of her hands.
Obviously we are still a long way off the full target and we are desperately seeking help with our fundraising to ensure success of Kerry's surgery.
If you would like to know more about the Appeal, please drop us a line at the E.Mail address: [email protected]
If you would like to contribute to Kerry's Hand Appeal. Please make cheques/postal orders payable to:
"Kerry's Hand Appeal"
Kerry's Hand Appeal, PO Box 130, Waterlooville, P08 OGX, U.K.
KERRY'S HAND APPEAL IS SET UP AS A TRUST FUND
Just click below to find the latest Appeal News along with a song written especially for Kerry.
E.Mail: [email protected]