Teen theatre star’s family launches urgent appeal for life-changing operation
Relatives of Lucy-Mae Beacock are fundraising for vital corrective surgery to fight her degenerative spine condition
The family of a teenage girl with a degenerative spine condition has launched an urgent appeal to raise £175,000 for a life-changing operation.
Lucy-Mae Beacock was born with Spina Bifida and has been under the care of Great Ormond Street Hospital ever since.
Last year doctors confirmed that the 14-year-old, from Barnet, had stopped growing at 4ft 7” and developed Scoliosis, a curvature of the spine which, without correction, will progressively worsen. She requires a new procedure called Vertical Body Tethering (VBT), currently unavailable in the UK. The procedure involves screws being inserted into each vertebra, tethered with a cord and pulled taut to straighten the spine.
Without this treatment, Lucy-Mae’s curve, currently at 55 degrees, will increase and stiffen. This will leave her bent over to one side.
She must therefore travel to America for the VBT treatment. However, the cost, estimated at between £150,000 and £175,000 is the key hurdle and the family cannot afford it.
Lucy-Mae’s mother Debbie said: “Lucy-Mae has been heroic in terms of what she has had to go through already but if we can’t correct this curvature of the spine it could prevent her from doing what she loves – acting, dancing and performing on stage. Aged seven she joined Chickenshed Theatre and, after playing a lead character at age eight, she declared that she wanted to be on the West End stage.
“With typical determination, at nine she auditioned and won the lead role in the RSC’s production of Matilda the Musical. She took to the stage for her first performance as Matilda in London’s West End when she was only 10 and played the role for eight months.”
Debbie added: “I have been amazed by how generous the Jewish community has been. Lucy-Mae’s school, JCoSS, has been unbelievably supportive and has offered to hold fundraising events. And our wonderful rabbi, Miriam Berger at Finchley Reform synagogue, helped us to organise the fundraising appeal and spread the word. I have also written to a number of Jewish charities to ask if they would be happy to help.”
To support the appeal, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/lifechanging-op-for-lucymae
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
