Meagan seeks ‘wheel’ help

By Kelly Yates
A HAMPTON Park woman is appealing to the community to help her dig deep and raise $50,000 to buy a specially modified van to transport her daughter’s electric wheelchair.
Margaret Watson’s daughter Meagan has Cole Carpenter Syndrome, a rare condition with a major characteristic being extreme bone fragility.
The 12-year-old has broken every bone in her body, many of them numerous times .
According to Ms Watson her daughter is the only female in the world, along with three males, to suffer from the condition.
Meagan has had 16 surgical operations and close to a thousand doctors’ appointments and will need to have spinal surgery in two years time as a result of Scoliosis.
The 39-year-old said her daughter depended on her electric wheelchair to interact at school and in the community.
Ms Watson, who has been volunteering for Yooralla’s Early Intervention programs for almost 10 years, said they were forced to leave the electric wheelchair at Meagan’s school, Kilberry Primary, because they didn’t have an appropriate vehicle to transport it in.
“This makes it difficult for Meagan to be independent out side of school as she is not always able to propel her manual chair,” she said.
“I have previously fundraised for almost $1000 worth of aids, equipment and some home modifications and I now need to concentrate on raising a further $50,000 for a specially modified vehicle.”
Ms Watson said her daughter had fractured limbs going over train tracks and speed humps, so they needed a van with excellent suspension, an electronic hoist and specialised seating.
“Our family car, which we’ve had for 19 years, has become very unreliable,” she said.
“And I have been relying on the vehicles of friends and neighbours to get to and from school and appointments with Meagan.”
Ms Watson said her financial situation wouldn’t allow her to borrow money against her mortgage so she once again had to rely on the generosity of others to raise the funds.
Despite her daughter leading a restricted and isolated life at times due to the syndrome, Ms Watson described her daughter as an inspiration.
“She sings with the National Children’s Choir of Australia and is a shining star in her school musicals,” she said.
“Meagan was born to perform and one day she has a dream of being on Australian Idol.”
Meagan will be starting secondary school next year at Narre Warren South P-12 College.