Aspiring footballer, 7, in £30K fundraiser plea to afford life-changing surgery

An Ashton mother is hoping her pleas will be heard in a £30,000 fundraiser to afford life-changing surgery for her son.

Sebastian Streit was diagnosed at birth with both cerebral palsy and severe dystonia of his left leg.

As a result, the 7-year-old has undergone two surgeries in the past two years. Both of which, unfortunately, were unsuccessful.

Seb has been accepted for treatment at the Swiss Media Clinic, located in Switzerland, for Stem Cell Therapy.

This particular treatment enhances the survival and renewal of health tissue cells by activating differentiation of local stem cells, which help to restore lost tissue function.

Adriana Streit said this treatment could change her son's life and would prevent him being left 'wheelchair bound and overly medicated'.

She added: "Sebastian is a lovely and smart boy who wishes nothing more than to walk and run like his friends.

"He loves football, and he dreams of being a professional player. He's very resilient and never ever complains about his disability nor the pain he's experiencing. Basically, he believes he can fly!"

The left side of Seb's brain is more damaged and the orthopaedic surgeries are unable to help him with this. Since his second surgery, he has been struggling to use his splint and is getting very painful blisters on his left ankle.

Seb is experiencing a lot of pain despite being on very strong medications - including baclofen, diazepam and paracetamol.

Adriana added: "It's harder and harder to control his suffering. All we hear from his orthopaedic surgeon and neurologist is that there is nothing else they can do for him because his damaged brain is in charge and responsible for the situation and all orthopaedic interventions were unsuccessful."

St Christopher's RC School in Ashton, where Seb is currently a student, arranged a fundraiser nicknamed 'Stepping Up For Seb' which involved a sponsored walk to Hartshead Pike and Knott Hill reservoir. As a school community, over £3500 was raised.

The school also held a special assembly teaching students about Cerebral Palsy. Jacob Chambers presented an inspirational talk to the children on how he lives with Cerebral Palsy and how he has achieved so many things in his life. He has represented England at swimming and also plays CP football, as well as being an actor in Hollyoaks.

The family also need to continue hydrotherapy and physiotherapy with Neuro Physio by Claire & associates, none of which is funded by the NHS.

You can contribute to the fundraising on the Go Fund Me page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/sebastians-wish-to-run-and-play-football-again?member=23192973&sharetype=teams&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer