Thundersley Eva Redmond fundraiser for new wheelchair

However, the eight-year-old, has been prevented from doing so due to her current wheelchair, which cannot tackle difficult surfaces, restricts her independence and is prone to falling and tipping.

Suffering from spinal bifida, a gap in the spine, which has in turn left her unable to walk and stand, a fundraiser has been launched for Eva to get her a new £14,000 motorised wheelchair which is being supported by her school, Thundersley Primary School.

Old wheelchair - What Eva is currently using (Image: Emily Redmond)

The school’s fundraiser day, next Monday, will see the school holding a sports day for students entirely seated to help them understand Eva’s condition.

Eva’s mum, Emily, hopes the new chair will help provide her daughter with the ability to enjoy life and sport unimpeded.

She said: “She is massively impacted when going out to the park, when she was younger it was okay but as she has gotten older, it has become a bigger issue.

“She loves sports, she is an adrenaline junkie, and she loves being outside and going to the beach but the wheelchair cannot cope, it is extremely taxing for her to self-propel herself for hours.

“It feels awful to see, you always want the best for her child and it is a complicated situation.

“We want her to have the same opportunities to develop, she wont be the same as her friends but having her freedom will let her catch up to them socially.

“It will give her so much confidence.”

Emily added that because of her current situation with the chair, Eva has been forced to sit out of her sports day yesterday for fear of falling out of the chair.

“She has fallen out of her chair before and it has really affected her, with the new chair, she will be able to compete in sports days and she can adventure, she would feel confident and comfortable in taking part.”

“The new chair will be able to switch between manual and powered settings, she won’t have to be with us all the time, she can be with her friends.”