Five-year-old from Ushaw Moor heads to St Louis for pioneering surgery

A BRAVE schoolboy has today flown to the US for pioneering surgery which medical staff hope will allow him to walk without pain for the first time.

Five-year-old Thomas Brennan, whose spastic diplegic cerebral palsy – or Little’s disease – leaves him in constant pain and often unable to walk more than few steps, is set for potentially life-changing surgery in St Louis, Missouri, on Tuesday.

Thomas, who calls his condition his “crazy legs”, was due to fly from the UK at 2am today with his six-year-old sister Eve, mother Jodie Bussey and grandfather John Nelson, after travelling from their home in Ushaw Moor, County Durham. They are expected to arrive at their destination – three flights later– in the early hours of tomorrow.

Yesterday, Miss Bussey said: “I’m full of self-doubt. Are we doing the right thing? I’m scared.”

Thomas will be on the operating table for between four and seven hours, as surgeons cut into his spine and sever a nerve, causing spasticity in his legs.

If all goes well, he will spend one night in intensive care, followed by a week on another ward.

He could get out of bed for the first time three days after the operation. Even after being discharged, he will have to return to hospital for hours of physiotherapy each day for weeks.

Miss Bussey thanked everyone who had supported the fundraising campaign to date, saying she would always be grateful to the many strangers who had donated.

However, several thousand pounds more is needed. To donate, visit justgiving.com/helpthomas- reach-the-moon-andstars

via Brave schoolboy visits US for operation on legs From Durham Times.