Newlife Campaign: How a specialist car seat for disabled children could help save little Jacob's life

Earlier this month we revealed how the charity needed £15,500 to help give 16 disabled children in the county.

That number is now 17 with a total of £16,500 needed due to the needs of youngster Jacob McGinnigle.

Two-year-old Jacob spends most of his time screaming in pain.

His stiff arms and legs spasm and twist uncontrollably.

Jacob, from Morecambe, has Cerebral Palsy, is registered blind and can’t walk, talk or control his own head.

He can’t clear his own airways, so risks choking to death unless he’s kept in just the right position.

“The only place Jacob stops screaming in pain is when he’s in a specialist seat at nursery. The NHS don’t fund the type he needs and they are too expensive for us to buy,” said his mum, Jade Harrison.

Desperate to help their son, Jade and dad, William, turned to Newlife for help funding the same specialist seat at home.

Now Newlife must raise the £786 necessary to help Jacob. He is just one of 17 children in Lancashire on Newlife waiting list for more than £16,500 of specialist equipment.

Jaded added: “If Jacob isn’t on my knee he has to go on the floor. It’s really distressing to see and I just don’t know what we’ll do as he gets older.

“He needs a seat to properly support him so he’s not in so much pain.

“I can’t hold him up on my knee all the time, but lying on the floor isn’t safe for him either.”

How to contribute

To donate, visit www.newlifecharity.co.uk/donate, call the fundraising team on 01543 431444 or text NEWL18 £10 to 70070.

For more information about Fundraising for Newlife in Lancashire contact Jane Harries, Newlife’s Regional Fundraising and Awareness Manager for the North West on 07494 490561