Teenager raising funds to secure Paralympic dream

A teenager who dreams of being a Paralympic kayaker is raising money to ensure he can continue to use an active prosthetic leg.

Ollie Bauert from Frampton-on-Severn has worn an active prosthetic, or blade, since he was six, which had been funded by the NHS.

But Ollie is due to turn 18 next year, meaning he will have to begin paying for the £15,000 blade, which needs replacing every three years, himself.

The NHS said it offered a comprehensive package of care and support for people who have lost limbs, including prosthetics.

Ollie has Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency (PFFD), a congenital condition that he said, "basically means that I don't have a hip and I'm also missing one of the bones in the lower part of my leg".

Aged six, Ollie became one of the first children to receive a prosthetic blade from the NHS.

The NHS will cease to offer Ollie prescription blades from his 18th birthday.

The other options available to Ollie would then be a standard prosthetic leg, which, he said, took more of his energy to use, or a wheelchair.

"For someone like me that has had the blade since I was six, it being taken away from me would have massive effects on my life," he said.

"I feel like I wouldn't be able to work nearly as much.

"I also train with Paddle UK for kayaking and I feel like without a blade I wouldn't be able to train fitness nearly as much because I wouldn't be able to run to train up for cardio."

In addition to his dream of participating in kayaking at the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, Ollie's mum, Carly Bauert, feared for his mental health if his blade were to be taken away.

The family's community in Frampton-on-Severn came forwards and said they wanted to help Ollie, Ms Bauert said.

Ollie will be one of the main benefactors from this year's sheep racing in the village, with money raised from the event going towards the funding of a new prosthetic blade for Ollie.

"It wasn't something we asked. [The village] came forward to us and said 'We'd like to help Ollie'," Ms Bauert said.

"I was quite taken aback.

"It feels like a big cuddle."

A spokesperson for the NHS in the South West of England said: "The NHS provides a comprehensive package of care and support for people who have lost limbs, including a range of prosthetics.

"Bionic arms have been part of the offer since 2022, and we are looking at the clinical criteria to see whether more patients could access this technology quicker if their care teams think they would benefit."

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