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FUND-RAISING efforts have started to help a four-year-old girl with a rare neurological condition which leaves her totally dependent on her parents.
Andrew and Sharon Mayes, of Millfields Way, Haverhill, are hoping to raise £4,500 for a wheelchair lift to help their daughter Emma get upstairs in her home.
Sharon has just given birth to the couple’s second daughter Sasha Marie and already suffers with back trouble. She finds it very difficult to lift Emma, who can only walk a few steps on her own.
Mr Mayes, 29, a builder, said his daughter was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome last year and needs care 24 hours a day. She has no speech, limited mobility and suffers from convulsions.
Now Woolworths store in Haverhill has started the ball rolling with a fund-raising campaign which began on Saturday with face-painting in their High Street store.
Mr Mayes said: "We are really pleased with what they are doing. Emma is totally dependent on us, she cannot tell us what she wants and can only do a few steps on her own.
"She will play quite happily, but she has no memory to help her learn to do things. My wife has a bad back and Emma is too big to carry up and down stairs all the time."
Terry Roweli, manager of Woolworths in Haverhill, said they had started a new fund-raising scheme to help children in the area and staff member Jackie Dixon put Emma’s name forward.
They hoped to hold more events to raise cash the next three months as the family could qualify for matching funds from another organisation. Anyone who wants to make a donation or help with the fund-raising can do so at Woolworths. Their fund will, continue in the future to help other children.

In the picture: Spooky... Ashley Howes, eight, gets a ghoulish look from face painter Jackie Dixon at Woolworths, Haverhill, on Saturday. The event was organised to raise funds for a chairlift for four-year-old Emma Moyes.