Deeside builders boost brave Heidi’s charity effort

Big-hearted staff of a Deeside based building company have backed a brave little girl’s fundraising efforts for a charity that provides trips of a lifetime for disabled and sick children.

Anwyl Construction, who are on site with the Maes Helyg Development in Garden City, have made a donation for nine-year-old Heidi Rogerson who is planning a five-mile walk in aid of Miles of Smiles, which arranges dream trips to Disneyland Paris.

Heidi lives just up the road from the £2.4 million development of 21 single and two-bed apartments on land off Welsh Road in Garden City for leading social housing organisation the Pennaf Housing Group.

The team at Ewloe-based Anwyl Construction were struck by the plight of plucky Heidi who is wheelchair-bound because of a rare genetic condition and other health problems.

A five-mile walk is no easy feat for the little girl who attends Ysgol Pen Coch special school in Flint but she is determined to do her bit for the charity as a way of saying a big thank you for all the help and support it has given her over the years.

Her proud mum, Allison, 46, said: “Heidi is a very happy little girl who doesn’t let anything get her down including all her medical conditions.
“She has cerebral palsy, Beal’s Syndrome, developmental dysplasia of the hip and also has an autistic spectrum disorder but her primary diagnosis is Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome which is a collagen condition that causes severe pain and all her joints to dislocate. I have the same condition but she has it much more severely.

“Heidi is being cared for by the orthopaedic team at Alder Hey Hospital and has gone through various major operations since the age of six months old.

“The most recent surgery was nine hours of reconstruction work on her pelvis which also included having both legs broken for the second time. She’s also facing more surgery in the future.”

Charlie Shaw, Contracts Manager for Anwyl Construction, said: “We were contacted by Alyn and Deeside Assembly Member Carl Sargeant and were very touched by Heidi’s story and by how cheerful and brave she has been.

“As a company we support a number of charities and local community organisations and we were delighted to do something for Miles of Smiles which has done so much for so many children from the area for so many years.”

The charity is very special to Carl Sargeant, the Welsh Government’s Communities and Children’s Minister, and he said: “I tweeted local company Anwyl Construction because I thought they would like to know about Heidi and her family’s amazing efforts.

“I would like to thank Anwyl for taking up the baton and helping out like this – it’s wonderful to see.

“I wish Heidi and Evie all the best for their walk and wheelchair trek – I’m sure Miles of Smiles are delighted with their remarkable contribution.”

Heidi will be joined on the walk by school friend Evie Davies, seven, from Treuddyn, near Mold, and the two will follow a five-mile route along the Flintshire Coastal Path from the Queensferry Hotel in Garden City and back, starting at 12noon with Heidi pushed in her wheelchair by her dad, Martin, 47.

He added: “We set our original fundraising target at £500 but thanks to the kindness of so many supporters the total has now reached an incredible £855.

“The £150 donation we’ve received from Anwyl Construction takes it over the £1,000 mark, which is just fantastic. It’s great to have support of this kind and we’re very grateful to them.”

Heidi has a history of doing her bit for good causes as four years ago she helped raise £1,000 by tackling the Flintshire Coastal Path in aid of a charity supporting children with the cancer condition neuroblastoma and a couple of years ago, aboard her own specially built bike, she and a school friend raised nearly £750 from a sponsored cycle ride.

Heidi said: “Miles of Smiles have been lovely with me and I wanted to do the walk to say thank you to them.”

You can visit Heid’s fundraising page at: justgiving.com/fundraising/Heidi-Rogerson