A schoolboy in Chester left paralysed in a horrific cycling accident over a year ago can stand up for the first time utilising his own’ standing wheelchair’.
This week, 15-year-old Ethan Slater received a customised standing wheelchair worth £11,500, jointly funded by the Steve Morgan Foundation and Christleton High School. His mother, Helen Black, stated: “It was an emotional experience watching him use it for the first time. It is comfortable for him to stand or sit all day.”
It was presented to him almost a year after the accident that left him paralysed from the waist down. So an accident left him paralysed from the waist down. The Southport Spinal Centre suggested a standing wheelchair to support and improve his bone mass, digestive system and help lessen spasms.
Ethan’s school and the Steve Morgan Foundation teamed up to purchase the stuff, even though it costs more than £11,500 and is not part of the NHS essential items list.
His mother Helen stated: “We are so thankful to the Steve Morgan Foundation and to Christleton High School, because we could never have supported something like this ourselves. Ethan’s wheelchair allows him to stand at the same height as his peers and help with his mobility.”
Helen received a phone call last December, which has changed her family’s life.
“Ethan was injured in an accident and hospitalised,” she responded. “My first assumption was that he would be seriously injured, but when I learned he was being airlifted to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, and I thought sheer dread and feared the worst.
“They feared he was paralysed from the waist down,” stated Helen. “Electrode tests were conducted to see he could walk but found no signs of movement. It was overwhelming to be told he’d never walk again.
Stephen Morgan, CBE, founder of the Steve Morgan Foundation, founded in 2011, and delighted to work with Christleton High School to provide standing wheelchairs.
He stated: “An accident like this can happen to anyone. Being a parent myself, I feel sympathy for Ethan and his family for what must have been a traumatic year. The Enable Fund supports people like Ethan who require specialised tools, such as wheelchairs, buggies, wheelchairs, and tricycles.
I’m excited that we could help Ethan become more independent.”
Darren Jones, a headteacher at Christleton High School, told the money donated by the school was collected from two non-uniform days when students paid into the fund to wear their clothes, revenue from the Year 11 yearbook, and the champion or Winner of the Christleton High School Association’s Grand Draw and a prodigal parent who generously donated her prize of £200.
