BRAVE Betsy Johnson who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy after being starved of oxygen for more than 15 minutes when she was born has been nominated for a Proud of Barnsley award in the Triumph Over Adversity category.
Eight-year-old Betsy, of Park Road, was rushed straight to the intensive care unit at Jessops in Sheffield after her mum, Beth Pollock, endured a number of complications during labour.
Her dad, Chris Johnson, spent the next two weeks by Betsy’s bedside while Beth recovered at Barnsley Hospital.
Last month, Betsy’s family decided to set up a fundraiser to raise money to have a lift installed at their home, to give Betsy the independence she had always dreamed of.
Family friend Emma Day, alongside four others, set up a Just Giving page at the end of February hoping to raise £20,000 for Betsy and her family.
After having reached that goal in just two-and-a-half weeks, Betsy’s parents began putting plans in place to have a lift installed at their home.
Beth says that the extra money would go towards other house adaptations including sensory toilets, a wet room and a specialist shower.
Speaking about the nomination, Beth said: “Betsy is over the moon to have been nominated.
“She’s very curious as to who has put her forward.
“She’s really excited for the ceremony and will definitely be wanting to pick out a new outfit especially for the occasion.
“For Betsy to now be given the independence she’s always dreamed of is just amazing and will make things significantly easier for both her and us.
“The amount of support we’ve received from the local and wider community is surreal everyone has been so unbelievably generous and supportive and we can’t thank them enough.
“The builder is booked to start in September the money raised has helped us get nearer to our final target which looked a long way off just a few months ago.
“We are eternally grateful to everyone who has helped along this journey the nomination means a lot to us all.”
