Will little Leah Ligertwood wind up in wheelchair? (PICTURES)
(CBS) What lies ahead for little Leah Ligertwood? The cute two-year-old Scottish girl has battled crippling cerebral palsy since she was 18 months old, but her parents think she has a shot at better mobility and a normal life with the help of a rare surgical procedure.
"All we want is for Leah to walk, run, dance and do all the things other children can do," her mother, Nicola Lowrie, told The Daily Record. "Which parent wouldn't do everything they can to make that happen?"
PICTURES - Little Leah's cerebral palsy dilemma
But Nicola's dreams were put on hold, when Scotland's National Health Service deemed the surgery - known as selective dorsal rhizotomy - too costly. It had other ideas for how to help Leah - like measuring her for a wheelchair.
Only one surgeon in the world has significant experience performing the surgery Leah's parents say she needs. His name is Dr. T. S. Park, and he's located across the pond at St. Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri. Since 1987, he's performed the procedure more than 2,000 times, reducing young cerebral palsy patients' spasticity and improving their movement.
About 764,000 Americans have cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that can cause problems walking and moving, as well as issues with speech and vision. It's caused by brain injury, such as oxygen loss during childbirth.
"SDR reduces spasticity in CP patients," Dr. Park told CBS News. Patients who have problems walking often improve after the procedure, he said.
Leah's parents had to send medical records, scans, and hours of video footage to St. Louis' doctors, before their application was accepted by St. Louis Children's Hospital, the Press and Journal reported. But once Leah was accepted for the surgery, the National Health Service wouldn't pony up.
"The decision to seek treatment in the U.S. was taken by the parents after conducting their own research," NHS spokeswoman Lesley Meldrum told The Daily Record. "Our clinical staff do not believe it is the success it is promoted to be for every patient."
Is the NHS just nickel-and-diming its constituents? Or are they just not clued into how successful rhizotomy can be?
"The primary issue is awareness," Abby Wuellner, spokesperson for St. Louis Children's Hospital, told CBS News. "Often primary physicians don't feel their patients are candidates, so don't refer them for assessment."
Without the needed funds, the Ligertwood family took to Facebook to solicit donations, and have raised over $75,000 toward the costly procedure - and have now scheduled Leah for surgery in August.
Leah is very excited for the operation, her mother tells CBS News. She's warned her parents she'll be too fast for them "once she's had her legs fixed."
