Sophie’s injured leg.The Woodford family from Newport has started a GoFundMe page in a bid to raise vital funds to allow their 7-year-old daughter, Sophie, to undergo complicated corrective surgery on her leg. On 20th October, whilst running around during break time at school, Sophie Woodford slipped over and hurt her leg. Following X-rays and MRI scans at St Mary’s Hospital doctors found a cyst taking up 40% of a cross-section of her tibia leading to significant weakness in her leg, causing it to fracture. The first doctor that the family saw advised them that the 7-year-old would more than likely require a referral to Southampton General Hospital (SGH) to have the cyst removed – and that a bone graft would be needed to backfill and strengthen her bone to prevent any further breaks. Various delays were encountered between October and January 2024 and having been transferred to SGH after issues here on the Island, it transpired that having been referred to Southampton-based facility Sophie was listed as new routine outpatient. This meant that she had to undergo another initial consultation which wouldn’t take place until January 2025. Feeling that it must’ve been a typo, Sophie’s mum Hannah contacted the NHS, only to be told that it was fact the earliest that she would be seen by anyone. Following a consultation with a second professional at another private medical facility in Southampton, the family was advised of the potential risks that may occur if the leg isn’t operated on which include refracture and bone deformity. Knowing the associated risks that waiting until early 2025 may bring, Hannah and her husband Pete have launched a GoFundMe in a bid to try and raise the funds to go private and allow their youngest daughter to have the surgery as soon as possible. Since the incident, Sophie has spent large parts of her rehabilitation in a wheelchair – which the family have had to hire for £22 a week from the British Red Cross – and is scared to put any weight on the offending leg as is her worry it may hurt her even more. Sophie’s mum, Hannah Woodford, has said:
“If anyone can help us get our little girl the help she deserves to be able to live a normal childhood, we would be eternally grateful.”
