A local dental surgery has described their determination to raise money for a local boy after reading about his story.
New Street Dental Care, based in Andover town centre, said that their “hearts became heavy and [their] eyes swelled after reading about Toby Pearce’s story,” a boy with severe epilepsy whose family have been raising funds for a new wheelchair.
Though that goal has now been achieved, the dental surgery is still determined to help raise extra funds past the target to buy accessories for the chair, such as covers and rain hoods. James Mackenzie, one of the surgery’s dentists, will be running the Clarendon marathon in aid of Toby on October 4.
The route takes the runs down the eponymous way, which connects Salisbury and Winchester, and is 26 miles in length, “with a few extra turns here and there to make up a full 26.2 miles,” the length of the marathon.
New Street Dental Care said that Toby’s “amazing” mother Gemma, as well as his father and siblings, “need all the support and help we can give.”
They continued: “This will make life a little easier for them due to his extensive needs in a custom made adult size chair which is costly, unfortunately financial help is unavailable for Toby and his family. This chair will be the last chair he will ever need and will last him for the rest of his life.
“Toby still now can have up to 100 seizures every day and at 14 years old he is mentally and physically around 6 months, but despite all he has been through he is such a happy boy, he lights up every room with his smile, and his laugh is infectious.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here