
A Leeton boy will be giving his luscious dreadlocks the chop to help raise funds for the Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation.
Eleven-year-old Blake Heath was inspired to shave his head for a good cause after a lengthy stay at the Sydney Children's Hospital when we was just four-years-old.
"I had a virus called coxsackievirus a6 which infected my brain and spinal cord," Blake said.
"He was basically paralysed and he had to learn to sit up, swallow and walk again," Blake's mother Angela Heath added.
While the condition has continued to affect him, Blake said he wanted to give back to the hospital staff and help other children.
"I want to help people be with their families," he said. "There's sick kids who need this."
Blake is aiming to raise $3000 by the time he clips his dreads at Parkview Public School on Wednesday June 29.
While he's yet to hit that goal, Blake's mother Angela Heath said she was proud of her son's commitment.
"He went through so much," she said. "For him to think of the children's hospital as a place where he's happy to go back to and see people shows the level of care and dedication from the staff."
IN OTHER NEWS:
Mrs Heath said her son was still an outpatient for bulk rehab and continued to deal with the lingering effects of his condition after his initial three-and-a-half-month stay in 2016.
Despite this, Blake said he still enjoys athletics and riding in his dad's truck.
"He found it very hard being away from his family," Mrs Heath said. "When he started fundraising he said his main goal was to help other people get back home to their families."
Mrs Heath said the lack of facilities in Leeton and Griffith for someone with Blake's condition was another factor behind her son's fundraising.
"Blake was airlifted from Griffith to Sydney and spent time in ICU," she said. "There's care you get there that you can't get here."
Donations for Blake's cause can be made via the Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation website.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.irrigator.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News