Harrison Walking On Air
HARRISON Watkins-Pasalic has a smile that lights up the room, but when he took his first steps in a Hart Walker, the wattage was enough to power a skyscraper.
"The smile just says everything he wants to say," said his proud mother Tanya Pasalic, as she urged her six-year-old to "lean, bend and step".
Born with cerebral palsy, Harrison has been waiting two years for a Hart Walker, which allows children with moderate to severe physical disabilities to experience hands-free walking.
"He'll be able to hold my hand now when we go shopping," said Mrs Pasalic, blinking back tears.
An anonymous donation to the Cerebral Palsy League helped end the family's wait for the walker, which cost $11,000.
Nicola Payne from the CPL said Harrison was one of five children who had benefited from donations worth $60,000 as a result of a story in The Courier-Mail in February.
"Cerebral palsy is one of the most expensive disabilities, but we know very little about it. It's something that occurs during birth, but it's not hereditary and there's no cure," said Ms Payne.
Physiotherapist with the Hart Walker program, Anne-Maree Stewart, said up to 12 children a year were fitted with the walkers, which were adjusted as they grew, to about 12 years of age.
Mrs Pasalic said Harrison was looking forward to kicking a football like his idols, the Brisbane Lions.
"We met them a couple of months ago and they gave him all this Lions gear," she said.
"At the time I joked he would be a walking billboard for the Lions but then I realised he didn't walk. Now he can – so I'm going to take him back and say now he is a walking billboard."
source: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22163083-5003426,00.html
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