Hamilton family launches fundraiser for walker, therapy for girl with cerebral palsy

A Hamilton family is asking for community support to fund a newly developed robotic walker for a girl who lives with cerebral palsy.

Erika Puckering is turning to the community for support, after four-year-old Pearl took her first steps earlier this month with the help of new robotic technology developed in Ontario.

Puckering is hoping to get Pearl a device of her own, and to get her walking every day.

“To actually see her light up, walk alongside her brothers — who are seven and 11 and always want to play with her, but she’s limited — her walking along with them and seeing her take her first steps with them was a highlight of my life, for sure,” said Puckering.

Pearl lives with cerebral palsy, which leaves her unable to stand or walk on her own.

But that challenging task becomes possible with the help of a Trexo robotic walking device.

The company, which is based in Mississauga, creates customized walkers for children with limited or no mobility at all.

“We program it for a specific individual by moving their legs through the pattern they’re able to do, and it records what they can get away with,” said Marc Robert, with Trexo Mississauga. “We don’t want to stretch people too far, because that would be uncomfortable, and once we understand what people can do, we make a walking pattern with that – depending on the angles we want the knee and hip to move at.”

“Then, we can just go for a walk,” said Robert. “So you hit the play button, and you’ll see the legs start to move.”

Puckering first heard about the device online, and the family went for a trial around a month ago.

Now, she’s on a mission to get Pearl one of her own.

“It’s giving her the exact way her legs and body should move in an erect position, that can give her even an additional life expectancy,” said Puckering.

The device costs around $35,000 in Canadian Dollars and requires intense physical therapy, so Puckering is turning to the community for help.

She has launched a fundraiser online, and has raised around $14,000 in just over a week.

Their goal is to raise $43,000 CAD to get Pearl walking as soon as possible.

“In daycare right now, she mostly sits in her chair like this, and she watches kids run around and play,” said Puckering. “If she was able to do that with them, it would mean everything.”

Anyone interested in contributing to the fundraiser can find the site on SupportNow.org, searching for “Get Pearl Walking!” or through the link here.

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