Martin Merrick and Derek Henderson are running the Gothenburg Marathon on 20th May to raise money for Ellie's eye gaze machine.

Ellie is a little girl aged 4 who has Rett syndrome and is unable to communicate through speech.

A team of family and friends are taking on different challenges to help give Ellie her voice.

What is Rett Syndrome?

Rett syndrome affects 1 in every 10,000 girls.
Rett is a neurological or brain disorder, which often affects apparently healthy little girls around the age of 6-18 months. Girls experience loss of speech and hand use. They may even go on to loose their mobility and develop more severe health problems.

In Ellie's case, she only has around 5-6 words that she can say. She can still use her hands to eat at the moment, however she can't draw, use cutlery or play games that require hand movement.

Ellie struggles daily to communicate and although parents have worked out her unique way of communicating for most things, she struggles daily with not being able to tell everyone else. Eye gaze helps her say what she wants to say and that's why we want to raise enough money to give her that voice!

Raising £12000 will allow Ellie her very own Eyegaze computer allowing her to be free and be the little girl she craves to be without frustration.
Please help gives Ellie the freedom she deserves.