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A four-year-old boy from Pontllanfraith has finally been given a date for a life-changing operation.

Awstin Raymond has been waiting for more than two years for surgery for spastic diplegia – a type of cerebral palsy which affects the legs and causes symptoms like muscle stiffness and spasms.

The surgical treatment, Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR), cuts nerve fibres in the spinal cord, which can help improve vision, speech, and leg function.

It is not currently provided by the NHS in Wales, despite being available in England.

In 2018, Awstin’s mother, Clare Williams, began fundraising in order to pay for private treatment.

Efforts have now raised £62,210 – well over the initial £50,000 target.

A number of individuals and organisations have helped raise the amount. Events and donations have including a sponsored trek of Mount Kilimanjaro, a donation from Blackwood Rotary Club and several events organised by the Valley Tavern in Fleur de Lys which raised £14,574.

After disruption to scheduled surgery throughout 2020, Awstin finally has a date for his operation in Bristol – February 1, 2021.

Awstin’s mother, Clare, told Caerphilly Observer: “Finally getting the call with the actual date was a huge shock but an amazing feeling. I think it took a day to sink in.

“It’s been a really hard year, first being told the operation was postponed and then having physio cancelled, which led to Awstin’s condition deteriorating.

“Fundraising has also been really difficult and it went from taking over our lives to being really difficult to organise events.”

Thanking people who have fundraised and donated, Clare said getting to this stage would not have been possible without everybody’s support:

“We cannot thank people enough and we will be forever grateful. Events like those run by Nathan Jenkins at the Valley Tavern have been amazing and we would not have been able to do this without them.

“It’s been a lovely end to a really difficult year, and we hope to start 2021 as we mean to go on.”

Awstin’s family are posting updates on his progress on obv.sr/awstin.