Jack Smith is getting ready for a 10-kilometre run, but the eight-year-old Wyndham Vale boy won’t be pounding the pavement – he’ll be pushed along in a stroller.
Jack has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and family friend Louise Finlay will be taking him on the Wyndham Rotary Fun Run this month.
“I’m a mother of four kids, and seeing what the Smiths go through with Jack makes me realise how lucky we are,” Ms Finlay said.
She wants to raise awareness of Jack’s condition and help the Smith family raise $17,000 for a wheelchair conversion for the family car.
The run itself supports the Royal Children’s Hospital, and Ms Finlay is making Jack’s chair her own personal goal.
Jack’s mother, Tneale, says the wheelchair conversion will be life-changing for Jack.
“At the moment, the wheelchair is more than 100 kilograms and Jack weighs 30,” Mrs Smith said.
“If we want to take Jack somewhere, we have to take the chair apart manually and lift it in, then put Jack in. With the wheelchair conversion, he’d be able to drive himself straight into the back of a car, which would give him that confidence-boosting independence.”
Mrs Smith said Jack was excited to be involved in the run.
Click here if you’d like to donate to the family. If you can help Ms Finlay with a running stroller, email louisefinlay@hotmail.com.au
