7:00pm Monday 1st November 2010
Gulshat Kadyrova, a 10-year-old girl who was born without hip sockets, is walking two miles to raise money for a new life-saving operation.
She and her mother Bahar came to Oxford in January 2006 from Turkmenistan, in Central Asia.
They travelled across the world for a specialist hip operation at the Nuffield Orthopeadic Centre.
And thanks to Oxford Mail readers, more than £15,000 was raised for the operation.
But doctors soon discovered she also had scoliosis – a curvature of the spine – which could prove fatal if it is not corrected.
Gulshat now has to wear a constrictive back brace 23 hours a day.
Family friend Jennie de Vries, funding coordinator for the Gulshat fund, said: “The bracing is working very well, but it is uncomfortable, especially in the hot weather.
“But Gulshat rarely complains as she is determined and has an incredible strength of will.”
Gulshat is now in year six at Cumnor Primary School and currently choosing which secondary school she would like to attend.
Mrs de Vries said: “Gulshat is a delight to know. She is the sort of person everyone warms to.
“She’s made a lot of friends at school and will give anything a go.”
But the charity now need to raise more than £35,000 for a new operation for when Gulshat is around 13, to fuse some of her vertebrae.
None of her treatment is available on the NHS and has all been funded by public donations from across the world.
So next Saturday, Gulshat and a handful of her schoolfriends, are kickstarting fundraising by walking more than two miles to raise money.
They will start from Cumnor Primary School and travel to Botley shopping precinct, which will take them around two hours.
Her mother and orthotist Terry Macmillan will also be on hand to make sure she is not pushing herself too hard.
Mrs de Vries said the idea had all come from Gulshat herself.
She said: “We weren’t sure how she would walk it.
“But she was determined. This was really something she wanted to do.
“She wanted to thank people for all they’ve done for her and show she could raise funds too.
“We know this is only a drop in the ocean, but we really hope this will get the ball rolling.”
Her mother Bahar said: “Everyone has been so supportive to us and we have made some very good friends here.
“I am very proud and happy that Gulshat is doing the walk. It’s not important how much will raise, but it is important that she can do it at all.”
rpope@oxfordmail.co.uk l Comment: Page 10 To donate money, visit gulshatfund.org.uk or drop it into Cumnor Primary School, or to LSCC Church Office, c/o Hedgerows, 2 Denman’s Lane, Cumnor, OX2 9PF. Cheques should be payable to The Gulshat Fund.
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